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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 










“As TIMID AS A RABBIT IN SPITE OF HIS GREAT SIZE” 




Jack -a- Boy 

in 

Beast- Land 


BY / 

ANNA M. CLYDE 

M 



)))) 3 

» D O O •) 

» ) > ) ) ) ) 

S 4 ^ ) 



PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO 

loj 105 SOUTH FIFTEENTH STREET 


'Sac. 


THE LIBRARY OF 
QONQRESS, 
Two Cow £3 Recciveo 

NOV, 4 1901 


0) Copyright entry 
JLAsS Cl XXa No. 

'i-b 

COPY a 


Copyright, 1901 
By George W. Jacobs & Co 


Contents 


CHAP. page 

I. The New Friend 7 

II. Fairy Love All Shows the Way .... 13 

III. The Squirrel at Home 16 

IV. A Jolly Good Fellow 22 

V. A Story by Brer Rabbit 25 

VI. How the Woodpecker Came 28 

VII. How Rabbit Babies Learn Their Lessons 33 
VIII. A Disappointed Fox and a Cunning Duck 41 

IX. Foxes at Home 46 

X. Buffalo Tells His Story 55 

XI. Two Bird Friends, Bob White and Lit- 
tle Grouse 61 

XII. An Unsociable Bear and a Friendly 

Fisherman 68 

XIII. The Bears in the Sky 79 

XIV. Robin Red Breast and His Family ... 84 

XV. An Eskimo Pussy and Its Mother ... 93 

XVI. A Clever Little Wood Cutter 98 

XVII. Blue Wolf Has Much to Say 103 

XVIII. A Deer Yard and what Jack-a-Boy saw 

There 114 

XIX. Too Timid to Make Friends 120 

XX. The Grandest Animal of All 124 


3 




Illustrations 


As Timid as a Rabbit in Spite of His Great Size 

Frontispiece 

“Come, Prince, You Must Make Friends with my 
Rags” . . . _ - Paged 

“ Do NOT Fear Me, Little Brother ” - Page 125 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 


CHAPTER I 

THE NEW FRIEND 

“ Now, Rags, remember, you are to be my 
little gentleman, and treat this pussy from far- 
oiff Asia as a gentleman should. Of course, 
Dearie, you are always my best friend, but we 
must love the new friend who is coming to us, 
too, and do all we can to make him happy. 
Do you hear me, my doggie, and what do you 
say?” 

Rags’ only answer was a long, loving look 
into Jack-a-boy’s blue eyes, his own true 
brown ones saying as plainly as words, “ My 
master, have I ever done other than you have 
wished ? ” 


7 


8 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

And now, who were Jack-a-boy and his lit- 
tle dog Bags ? 

Jack-a-boy was Mrs. Bird’s little son, a dar- 
ling lad of nine summers, with hair like spun 
gold, and tender blue eyes that looked straight 
into one’s soul, and seemed to speak of climes 
yet happier than ours. 

The sweet face was always pale, for bright, 
sunny-tempered little Jack-a-boy was a cripple. 
Once, long ago, he had been well and strong. 
But now, he could never more move from the 
little room in which he and his doggie talked 
in the twilight. 

A peal at the door-bell ! 

“ It’s pussy. Mother, I know it is. 

“Oh, Mr. Expressman, have you brought 
him ? Is he pretty ? Do let me see him. Has 
he a pedigree?” tumbled from Jack-a-boy ’s 
lips. 

“ Ho, indeed, sonny, he has a basket,” good- 
naturedly explained the expressman. 

Jack-a-boy did not laugh. He was too truly 
polite, this boy of mine, but there was a merry 



“Come, Prince, you must make friends with my Rags” 











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The New Friend 


9 

twinkle in his eye as he replied, “ And I am 
sure he enjoys that just as well.” 

In another instant, puss did not have even 
a basket, for out he jumped and purred up to 
Jack-a-boy’s side, seeming to say, “Are you 
my little master ? I am very glad to be your 
friend.” 

“Oh, what a dear sweet pussy! Mother, 
isn’t he a beauty ? What shall we call 
him?” 

“ Why, Jack-a-boy, he looks like the cat in 
the fairy tale book. You know, the prince, 
who looked the prince even when turned into 
a cat by his wicked fairy godmother.” 

“ That’s it, mother,” cried Jack-a-boy, clap- 
ping his hands. “We’ll call him Prince. My 
beautiful black Prince. 

“ Come, Prince, you must make friends with 
my Kags.” 

The wee dog stifled a jealous pang, but true 
to his gentlemanly instincts, sat up in his pret- 
tiest manner, and offered Prince a dainty 
white paw. 


10 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

Prince bowed gracefully, as he accepted the 
outstretched paw of little Kags. They looked 
into each other’s eyes a moment. What they 
saw I cannot say, but from that instant the 
two were the best of friends. 

‘‘ Oh, Mother, aren’t they the dearest 
things?” cried Jack-a-boy, his face aglow 
with pride and pleasure. 

Truly, they were a beautiful pair of pets. 
Kags looked like nothing so much as a pure 
white snowball, his soft curls clinging to his 
little fat sides, his big brown eyes shining out 
soft and tender and loving from under the 
white fringe that almost hid them. 

Prince was black as coal, with long hair and 
a beautiful feathery tail that seemed to be his 
pride. His eyes glowed like diamonds, and 
his tufted little ears gave him a look of great 
cat wisdom. 

As the days passed, the trio had many 
long delightful talks. Often, in the twilight, 
Prince would tell tales of the far-off land 
from which he had come, or stories of the 


The New Friend 1 1 

forest friends he had known and loved so long 
ago. 

“Ah, Prince,” sighed Jack-a-boy, “if I only 
could see them. But that can never be. I 
must always stay here,” quavered the pitiful 
little voice. 

Eags cuddled close to the little form, and 
softly whispered, “You have us, dearest, and 
you know, even if you were well and strong 
these friends Prince tells us about would not 
know you. They fear and flee from all man- 
kind. They would fear even you, my gentle 
little master.” 

Prince said nothing, but the busy little 
mind was at work. What was the old, old 
story, he could now but half recall^? Was it 
not that all the beasts of the forest were 
pledged to befriend a helpless child? Yes, 
surely that was it. 

Prince pondered till Jack-a-boy fell fast 
asleep. 

At last he heaved a deep sigh. “ No, I fear 
it is not possible,” he murmured. 


12 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

‘‘What isn’t possible? Tell me about it, 
Prince,” said Kags. “Perhaps I can help 
you.” 

Prince, nothing loath, unfolded his plan. 
“Oh, Eags,” said he, “if we could only get 
Jack-a-boy there the rest would be easy.” 

Eags glanced lovingly at the frail little 
form on the bed, then replied, “Surely love 
will find the way. It always does.” 

And it did. 


CHAPTER II 


FAIEY LOVE ALL SHOWS THE WAY 

Suddenly, a brilliant light flashed up in 
the darkness. And in the light a tiny form, 
clad in white, appeared. Soft golden curls 
clustered around the dainty brow. Pure, in- 
nocent blue eyes danced in the merry little 
face. 

“Yes, indeed. Kit Kat ! Yes, indeed, Bow- 
Wow ! Love always finds the way. I am 
Fairy Love All. And I have come to help 
you. You love Jack-a-boy, you say. Now 
show that love by service. You remember 
how the rats helped Cinderella ? Here is my 
carriage at the door. Get you into the har- 
ness and do the same, and we will have Jack- 
a-boy to the Mola Forest ere the moon sets to- 
night.” 

So saying, she touched Jack-a-boy with her 

13 


14 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

magic wand, and lo ! as though carried by un- 
seen hands, he passed from his shut-in room out 
into the cool night air. 

A tinkle of a tiny bell in Fairy Love All’s 
wee white hand, and the astonished little lad 
rested on cushions of softest down, in Fairy 
Love All’s silver hued chariot. 

“ Off ! ” cried she. 

Could it be possible ? Ere the faithful little 
friends in the harness could tire, the tree-tops 
of the Mola Forest waved their giant branches 
against the moonlit sky. There they paused. 

‘‘ Farewell, Jack-a-boy ! Farewell, Prince 
and Kags ! I leave you in good hands,” cried 
Fairy Love All. “ My duty lies in the world 
beyond. Take this staff of silver, Jack-a-boy. 
While you carry it no danger can come near 
you, nor can you feel cold, or hunger, or sick- 
ness.” Then she disappeared, leaving the be- 
wildered little group at the forest edge. 

But some one else was watching over them. 
It was the man in the moon! He smiled 
down and said, “Welcome to Beast-land, 


Fairy Love All Shows the Way 15 

Jack-a-boy ! Enter and see for yourself all 
the wonders of which Prince has told you ! ” 
Then to each and every beast in the forest 
the man in the moon whispered, “ The little 
lame child comes to you. Care for him ten- 
derly, for Fairy Love All’s sake. Little squir- 
rel, run down and greet him first,” he called 
to his merry little friend. 


CHAPTEK III 


THE SQUIRREL AT HOME 

The squirrel, from his nest in the tree-top, 
tripped lightly along the branch, then ran 
daintily down the trunk, and, with tail erect, 
sat at Jack-a-boy’s feet. 

“ Oh ! see the squirrel ! ” cried he. “ Show 
me your home! Will you, squirrel? I am 
very much interested in you and your 
family.” 

“ Come with me then, and you will see how 
the squirrels live.” 

A wave of the magic wand, and Jack-a-boy, 
Rags, and Prince found themselves in the 
tree-top. 

The mother squirrel and her babies, feeling 
perfectly safe in their warm nest of moss and 
leaves, had curled their tails over their bodies 
and gone to sleep. 


16 


The Squirrel at Home 17 

“Wake up, squirrel town!” cried Eed 
Squirrel. “ Wake up ! Here are visitors ! ” 

Up they jumped; but the babies, scarcely 
waiting to say, “ How do you do? ” scampered 
away. 

To them, “Wake up!” meant “get break- 
fast ! ” 

The little fellows soon returned. Each 
grasped a nut in his slender toes. They sat 
up straight, with their tails curled over their 
backs, and nipped off the shell in little bites, 
turning the nut around with their toes as 
easily as Jack-a-boy could have done with his 
fingers. 

Their breakfast finished, the squirrel chil- 
dren scampered off for a frolic. What fun 
they had, running up and down the branches, 
tweaking each other’s tails, pelting each other 
with nuts, playing hide-and-seek with mother. 
How skilfully they ran down the tree trunk. 
It seemed no harder for them than climbing 
up. 

Jack-a-boy wondered at this. 


i8 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

Seeing his puzzled look as he watched, Eed 
Squirrel said, “ Look ! It’s easy enough, J ack- 
a-boy.” He then proceeded to turn all his 
toes around so that the nails pointed back- 
ward. “This makes it just as easy for me to 
run down a tree as up,” he explained. 

“ Ked Squirrel,” said Bags, “ don’t you find 
it very cold here in winter ? ” 

“ Oh, this is only my summer home. You 
must see my winter residence. It is as snug 
as I can make in a hole in the side of the old 
oak tree. I gather my store of nuts in the 
early fall and hide them near by. When win- 
ter comes on, I crawl into my nest of leaves, 
curl up and go to sleep. I rather imagine 
these would be cold quarters.” 

At that moment, Jack-a-boy gasped, “Do 
look at those children ! They are all falling ! ” 
“ Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! ” laughed Ked Squirrel. 
“ Why, those are the flying squirrels ! I don’t 
believe they could fall if they tried.” 

“ Flying squirrels ? ” said Jack-a-boy. 
“ Why, can squirrels fly ? ” 


The Squirrel at Home 19 

“Well, some can come pretty near it,” said 
Ked Squirrel. “ I’ll tell you how it is. They 
have loose skin running from the fore legs to 
the hind ones. When one of the little fellows 
is standing or walking, this skin hangs loose 
like a ruffle. When he wishes to go any place 
in a great hurry, he runs to the top of the 
nearest tree. Then spreading out his legs, so 
that the skin is drawn tight like a sail, he 
makes a flying leap through the air, striking 
near the foot of another tree, a long distance 
away. He is up this and off again like a 
flash. He does not exactly fly, but it looks 
so much like it that people call him a flying 
squirrel. 

“ Down on the ground you will meet an- 
other of our family, little Chipmunk,” con- 
tinued Ked Squirrel. “ He is a dear shy little 
fellow, and you will find him at home only in 
the wood where the shadows are heavy and 
the hills are steep. Where old logs and 
stumps abound, there look for him. You 
can’t mistake him. His color is rusty red 


20 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

brown above and white beneath. On his back 
he wears five black stripes and two white 
ones. 

“ His body is slender and graceful and his 
fur short and glossy. His tail is not quite so 
bushy as mine, though it is very pretty. 

“ You may see him some morning sitting on 
the top of an old stump, still as a statue. Ap- 
proach too close, and away he will scurry into 
one of his many homes in the earth. Under 
a broad stone you will find the mouth of his 
burrow. 

“ Lift the stone and a narrow crooked pas- 
sage a foot or two long with an enlarged 
chamber at the end is seen. He has hollowed 
this with his own tiny hands. On the fioor is 
his bed of leaves, and possibly a few acorns or 
chestnut shells. He always has several homes 
and when threatened with danger in one, flies 
to another and safer retreat. 

“You know I told you his tail is not bushy. 
Do you see why ? It would be very incon- 
venient on a wet day to have a long bushy 


The Squirrel at Home 21 

tail to drag through the entrance way to his 
house. 

“ But see, Jack-a-boy, there comes my friend 
Blue Jay ! He is a jolly good fellow. I know 
you will enjoy him.” 


CHAPTER lY 


A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW 

Prince’s golden eyes glittered as “Jay! 
Jay ! Jay ! ” was screamed close to his ear. 

“ Good-morning, mine enemy 1 ” began the 
saucy bird. “ Oh, no, you won’t eat me, be- 
cause our Fairy Love All’s magic wand is 
right here.” 

“ Indeed, Blue Jay, I had no intentions of 
doing such a thing,” returned Prince, in a very 
dignified tone of voice. “I don’t eat my 
neighbors. How, sir, as for you ” 

“ Hever mind ! Never mind ! That’ll do ! 
00 ! 00 ! 00 ! ” 

“ But Jay, you don’t, do you ? ” asked Jack- 
a-boy. 

“ Don’t ? Don’t what ? ” 

“ Don’t eat your neighbors ? ” 

“Well, no, not exactly.” 

22 


A Jolly Good Fellow 23 

“ Oh, Blue Jay, you know you do ! ” said 
Bed Squirrel. “We both do. Now let’s be 
honest. Jack-a-boy will understand. We 
both are particularly fond of fresh eggs and 
little ones from the song-birds’ nests.” 

“ Well yes, but I don’t consider them my 
neighbors. You are my neighbor. Bed Squir- 
rel. Do you know what the hunter whistled 
down at the foot of the tree last night ? 

“Oh, ho! Blue Jay and Bed Squirrel! 
You are a pair of Avicked thieves ! But little 
rascals, I believe Ave folks all love you ! We 
do ! 00 ! 00 ! 00 ! Ho ! He ! Ho ! ” 

Then this blue plumed, fun loving bandit 
danced up and doAvn the oak branch, sliding 
from side to side, bowing right and left, low- 
ering his body, flattening his crest and droop- 
ing his wings. In fact, altogether behaving in 
such a ridiculous manner, that J ack-a-boy real- 
ized at last Avhat it meant to be, “ Crazy as a 

jay.” 

“I’ll tell you something else, too, Jack-a- 
boy,” said Bed Squirrel. “If you have any 


24 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

valuables where Jay can reach them, put them 
away, for he is a great collector, and hides 
where it is hard to find. So be careful of 
your pennies and your buttons and your rings. 
But in spite of his mischievous tricks, he is our 
best friend, and never fails to warn bird and 
beast when danger is near. He never, never 
gives a false alarm, either.” 


CHAPTER Y 


A STORY BY BRER RABBIT 

All this time Blue Jay’s eyes were on the 
ground beneath the tree. Suddenly, he ex- 
claimed, 

“ Ho ! there goes Brer Rabbit I Hi there ! 
Wait a minute ! We’re coming down.” 

Down went the entire party. 

‘‘Well, this is luck! Raggley Ear, the 
story-teller ! Come, tell us your latest story ! ” 
said Blue Jay and Red Squirrel in a breath. 

“ He ! He ! He ! ” chuckled Raggley Ear. 
“ It’s the old fox again. Caught sure enough 
this time ! Down in my home I have a family 
of young rabbits, very tender and toothsome, 
according to Sly Boots’ ideas. 

“You know, little man,” he continued, ad- 
dressing Jack-a-boy, “ we wild rabbits live in 

holes in the ground, which we dig with our 
26 


26 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

claws. Sometimes many of us live together. 
Our home is then called a warren. 

“ The holes are not dug too wide, lest the 
dogs get at us, and we are always careful to 
have more than one way out. 

“ Well, early one morning last week, when I 
popped my head out of the door to have a 
look at the weather, whom should I see stand- 
ing there, but Keynard, the fox. 

“ ‘ Good-morning,’ said he. ‘ What a nice 
clean house you have there in the sand. But 
the entrance is rather narrow. Why don’t 
you dig out the side walls ? ’ 

“ ‘ Perhaps you are right,’ I replied, ‘ I’ll 
think it over.’ 

“I spent several days enlarging the front 
entrance, under the root of an old maple tree. 
Keynard sat by in the shadow, grinning his 
approval. I could see him lick his chops in 
anticipation of the feast soon to be his. The 
end came this morning. 

“ Up, up he crept upon our home, sly as a 
mouse. He glanced a moment at the yawning 


A Story by Brer Rabbit 27 

mouth, then made a quick dash into it. Alas ! 
poor Reynard! His head stuck fast! He 
could neither get in nor out ! 

“The family slipped out the back door. 
The children must learn to know the fox, and 
Mother Cottontail thought this a fine oppor- 
tunity to teach them. 

“ Just as I came away, I saw my five bonny 
babies sitting in a row, gazing at the fox. 
And I heard their mother say, ‘ Children, this 
— is — a — fox ! He — will — eat — you — if he 
gets a chance ! ’ 

“ Ring, the fox hound, passed me on the way 
and I rather think that he’ll have an interest- 
ing story to tell at home to-night. 

“ But whom have we here ? ” said Rabbit, 
“ only one bird in the forest wears the German 
flag on his head, and that is Red Headed 
Woodpecker.” 


CHAPTEE VI 


HOW THE WOODPECKER CAME 

“ Well ! Well ! Well ! My old friend Eag- 
gley Ear ! ” 

“My dear Eed Headed Woodpecker ! How 
do you do ? Where did you come from ? ” 

“Just down from Manitoba,” replied Eed 
Headed Woodpecker, in a voice like a tree- 
toad. “ My mate and I are building a nest in 
yonder maple tree.” 

“ May I see it ? ” asked J ack-a-boy. 

“Yes, indeed. Come right over. You see we 
first select a dead branch. In this we make a 
round hole just large enough for an entrance.” 

“ I don’t see how a little bird like you can 
cut such a large hole in the hard wood.” 

“ Oh, the wood is not very hard, and our 
bills are strong and sharp. We stand on the 

trunk of the tree, holding tight with our 
2d 


How the Woodpecker Came 29 

claws, two toes pointing forward, two back- 
ward, at the same time bracing ourselves with 
our spiked tails. In a short time, we chip out 
an opening. Then we dig deep down into the 
limb. Sometimes it takes three weeks to fin- 
ish the nest. When it is quite large enough, 
my mate collects the little chips of wood that 
have been cut off in boring and covers the 
floor of our home. On these she lays her 
eggs.” 

“ My, you are a beautiful bird, Ked Headed 
Woodpecker! I never saw a prettier. Where 
did you get that brilliant red head ? the white 
breast and tail covering ? the glossy black 
body ? ” 

“ I’ll tell you, Jack-a-boy, if you will promise 
me not to repeat it. I am just a wee bit 
ashamed of this little history. 

“Many, many years ago, an old woman 
lived in a hut in the wood. 

“One day she sat serving by the fireside. 
She wore a red cap, a black dress, and a white 
apron, tied in a big bow behind. 


30 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

‘‘ ‘ ’Tis time to make my evening meal/ she 
murmured. 

“ Eising, she laid aside her sewing, and pre- 
pared some cakes to bake in the coals. 

“ A timid knock was heard at the door. 

“ ‘ Come in ! ’ called the old lady from her 
place by the fire. 

“A feeble old man crept slowly into the 
room. ‘ Give me to eat ! ’ he said, ‘ for I faint 
with hunger! You may surely have the first 
thing for which you wish, if you will grant 
my prayer.’ 

“ ‘ Surely I will 1 ’ and she made in haste a 
great large cake. 

‘‘With its baking, the kindness in her heart 
seemed to grow less. 

“ ‘ That is entirely too large a cake to give 
away,’ she said. ‘ I will bake another.’ 

“ But when this was baked, it, too, seemed 
to her narrow soul too generous a gift for the 
old man. 

“ Then she baked a tiny, tiny little cake, so 
small she scarce could see it. But the last 


How the Woodpecker Came 31 

remnant of good will passed out of her heart 
as the cake baked. 

“ ‘ I’ll give him none of my good cakes at 
all,’ she said. ‘ Here, old man, take this crust 
and begone.’ 

‘‘ The old man passed out into the darkness, 
and the hard-hearted old woman sat gazing 
into the fire. 

“ Suddenly she exclaimed, ‘ I was a selfish 
old woman ! I wish I were a bird, and could 
fly to the poor man with the best cake on the 
shelf.’ 

“Ho sooner were the words uttered than 
lo ! the old woman disappeared, and from that 
day she was never seen again. 

“ The next morning a new bird clung to the 
tree trunk, a bird who must ever pick in its 
side for her living. She wore a black suit, 
with apron of white tied behind. A red cap 
sat upon her head. That was my great-great- 
great-grandmother. Yery few birds look like 
the mothers of the race, but all red-headed 
woodpeckers do.” 


32 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

‘‘ And do you still dig in the tree trunks for 
your food ? ” 

“Yes, we do. But we don’t think that 
hard. Our bills are well suited to the pur- 
pose, and our tongues, too. ■W’'hen you see a 
woodpecker tapping at a dead limb, you may 
know that he is hunting for insects, grubs, and 
beetles that live in the dead wood. He bores 
in the wood until he reaches them. Then his 
bill cannot open wide enough in the hole to 
reach them, so what must he do ? Here his 
tongue comes to his aid. His tongue is like a 
harpoon. Do you know what that is ? And 
he can dart it out until it is twice as long as 
the bill. Besides being barbed, it is very 
slimy, and eggs and little flies will stick to it. 
When he has found his dinner, he darts out 
his tongue, strikes it into the unlucky grub 
and that is the end of it. But there, I see our 
friend Babbit is becoming very impatient. I 
won’t keep you any longer. Good-bye ! Per- 
haps we may meet again.” 


CHAPTEE YII 


HOW BABBIT BABIES LEAKN THEIR LESSONS 

The rabbit was impatient, and rather im- 
patiently said, 

“ Jack-a-boy ! I am going up to our play- 
ground ! 'Will you come with me ? ” 

“I should like to go very much,” replied 
Jack-a-boy. 

“I’ve been thinking of that fox down at 
your home, and I am very much surprised 
that you so easily outwitted him. I always 
thought him the wiliest creature of the for- 
est.” 

“So he is. But every animal must have 
tricks by which to mislead the enemy. 
Mothers spend many, many hours teaching 
their little ones these tricks by which they 
are to save their lives many times later on.” 

“ Tell me about the tricks, will you ? ” pleaded 
Jack-a-boy. 


33 


34 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

“ Well, now let me see. The first trick the 
children are taught is ‘ Lie low and say noth- 
ing.’ That is very easily understood. 

“Then there is ‘Freezing.’ ‘Freezing’ is 
simply turning into a statue.” 

Prince and Bags, a little tired of being left 
out of the conversation, tried this last named 
trick. How Kaggley Ear laughed as he called 
out, “It won’t do! Bags is too white and 
Prince too black ! You see, we creatures of 
the forest are so nearly the color of the things 
about us that when one ‘ freezes,’ it is almost 
impossible to distinguish him from surround- 
ing objects. 

“ You should have seen my babies learning 
to freeze yesterday. As long as Mother Cot- 
tontail’s white cushion tail went bobbing 
away through the woods the children ran 
their best to keep up with her. But the in- 
stant mother stopped and froze every little 
cottontail did likewise. Hot perfectl}^- of 
course, but a pretty fair imitation. 

“It is a very bright family, I assure you. 


Rabbit Babies Learn Their Lessons 35 

They look very cute as they sit imitating 
mother wobbling her nose to keep her 
smeller keen, or with their tiny claws making 
awkward attempts to comb their ears like she 
does. They have begun to dress their coats, 
too, and to bite the burrs from vests and 
socks. 

“ Curley told me this morning that the only 
water fit for a rabbit to drink is dew from the 
brier bush. When I asked why, Molly re- 
plied exactly in her mother’s voice, ‘Water 
that has touched the earth must surely bear 
some taint.’ 

“ But here is the playground, and you can 
watch Mother Cottontail as she plays with the 
children. It is not all play, however. In their 
games, they are ever learning the great lesson 
of life, — how to escape the enemy.” 

Mother Cottontail sat up on her white furry 
cushion. 

“ Thump ! ” went her padded back feet on 
the ground, making so loud a noise that our 
three little friends concluded some giant 


36 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

animal must be pawing about in the woods 
beyond. 

“ That means ‘ Freeze,’ ” explained Kaggley 
Ear. Each little rabbit, suiting the action to 
the signal, froze instantly. 

“ Thump ! Thump ! ” went mother’s hind 
foot again. 

As each little fellow walked demurely up to 
his parent, Jack-a-boy said, “ Why, I do be- 
lieve ‘ Thump ! Thump ! ’ meant, ‘ Come here ! 
Come here ! ’ ” 

“ Quite right,” said Eaggley Ear. “ I be- 
lieve you would soon learn the signals your- 
self. See whether you can tell this one.” 

“ Thump ! Thump ! Thump ! ” 

Every baby ran for dear life, amidst the 
shouts of Prince, Eags, and Jack-a-boy. “ It 
means ‘ Eun ! Eun ! Eun ! ’ ” they cried in 
chorus, “ doesn’t it ? ” 

Now they play hide-and-seek. Mother Cot- 
tontail runs a short distance, then gives the 
signal “ Freeze ! ” Off she scampers. “ Thump ! 
Thump ! ” and away each baby flies. But 


Rabbit Babies Learn Their Lessons 37 

Mother Cottontail is nowhere in sight. Then 
what do these wise little learners do ? Search- 
ing carefully, they find her foot scent. Follow- 
ing this strange guide, they work out the trail 
and shout with glee as they find her hidden 
among the briers. 

Before hiding again. Mother Cottontail 
‘‘ winds,” that is, she zigzags so that the trail 
is so crooked the children are a long time in 
working it out. By that time Mother Cotton- 
tail is so far away that they lose the scent al- 
together, and cannot find her. 

“A good trick to play on the dogs,” she 
says on her return. 

“Thump!” went little Curley at Jack-a- 
boy’s feet. 

“That means, ‘get out of my ground or 
fight,’ ” interpreted Raggley Ear. 

“ Oh, I am so scared ! ” said Jack-a-boy, 
laughing. “ I can’t fight I Who will help 
me ? Shall I run to the brier bush ? That is 
where Mother Cottontail went.” 

“ No ! no ! the brier bush won’t help you. She 


38 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

is our best friend. To every other animal she 
is an enemy, but because we never climb after 
her roses like the mice and squirrels ; or knock 
them off like the cattle ; or twitch them off 
with long tails like the opossum; or break 
them down with hoofs like the deer, she is our 
friend and protector. When danger threatens 
we fly to her, sure that she is ever ready with 
thousands of keen daggers to help and defend 
us.” 

“ Who is our next best friend, Molly ? ” 
asked the father rabbit. 

“Water! jump in and swim away, laughing 
at the hounds on the bank. Water kills the 
scent. The dog is helpless, and returns to his 
master without any little bunny.” 

While the little folks are busy learning in 
their play, the father rabbits have a gay time. 
Bags and Prince join in the sport, and cover 
themselves with glory, for city folks are rarely 
so clever as the wildlings of the wood. You 
should see them ! Bound and round they go ! 
They leap over everything in the grounds. 


Rabbit Babies Learn Their Lessons 39 

They play leap-frog like small boys, jumping 
over each other’s backs. The most skilled 
college athlete cannot equal them in the run- 
ning high jump. 

Sometimes the rabbits gather together 
in the middle of an open space, and creep 
about close to the ground. Suddenly, they 
rise to their hind legs and hop slowly about 
as though dancing a stately minuet. 

A loud squeak from some rattle-brained 
youngster and off they run hurry-scurry, with 
many a wild leap and shout of fear. Shortly 
after they return, quiet and sedate and solemn 
as the much quoted judges. It’s all a joke. 

“Curley,” said Jack-a-boy, “do you know 
how to box ? My tame rabbits at home do.” 

“ Of course I do. All rabbits can do that.” 

“Fluff, come here! Jack-a-boy wants to 
see a boxing match.” 

The two rabbits stand up on their hind legs, 
face to face, and cuff each other soundly, at 
the same time hopping slowly around in a 
circle. Jack-a-boy could not see the blows. 


40 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

but he could hear the sounds as they landed 
on Bun’s ribs. 

Soon the play ended. The rabbits slipped 
off, one by one to hunt their supper of tender 
grass, or the bark of young trees which they 
easily gnaw off with their chisel-like teeth. 


CHAPTEE VIII 


A DISAPPOINTED FOX AND A CUNNING DUCK 

Jack-a-boy, Eags and Prince lay down, the 
earth for a pillow, and fell into a deep dream- 
less sleep. Just as the sun rose in the east 
Jack-a-boy roused from his slumbers. 

A flash of yellow passed before his eyes, 
and there stood a fox in the path ! My, but 
he was a beauty ! One foot was upraised, his 
fine brush moved languidly from side to side. 
His great eyes glanced fearlessly into Jack-a- 
boy ’s. 

Kindly allow me to pass,” said he. 

Jack-a-boy, not to be outdone in politeness, 
stepped aside. The fox passed on, much to 
the boy’s disappointment. He went slowly 
along the road, his eyes cast down, his brow 
wrinkled as though in deep thought. He 

seemed to have forgotten that such a thing as 
41 


42 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

a boy existed. Once out of sight though, and 
you should have seen him ! A wild burst of 
speed, marvelous jumps, queer little turns and 
jerks, all showed his exultation at having so 
easily escaped one who, as he supposed, had 
lain in wait for him. 

Prince, bearing the silver wand, pursued 
him. Eapping him lightly on the head, he 
said, “ That is my master, the little lame 
child. Fairy Love All brought him to the 
forest, and you are to make him welcome, or 
bring down upon your head her great dis- 
pleasure. 

“The boy is here to learn all possible of 
your life. He loves you and would treat you 
as a brother.” 

Fox, whether it was the magic wand or 
not I cannot say, turned and retraced his 
steps. 

“Please forgive me,” he said, “I did not 
understand, I will 

“ Hi ! there ! What is that ? ” 

Helter-skelter ! Away went the fox again. 


A Disappointed Fox 43 

From the dark little stream on the other 
side of the wood, rose a bird. To Fox, it sug- 
gested five or six more birds, downy little fel- 
lows, hiding among the roots and grasses. A 
wood duck’s family was too good a breakfast 
to be neglected, even for Fairy Love All’s sake. 

“ I’ll be back soon,” he shouted, just as he 
disappeared. 

Foreseeing his purpose, and trusting to de- 
feat it. Wood Duck gave the signal Hide ” 
to her babies and then alighted near the little 
group. 

She herself was safe, for near her lay the 
magic wand. The little brood, wherever 
they were, had heard the mother’s cry of 
warning and so well did they hide that all 
Fox’s cunning failed to find them. 

Fox, disappointed at not spying out the 
ducklings’ hiding-place, returned. 

“Good-morning, Wood Duck,” said he. 
“ How are the children this morning ? ” 

“All very well, very well and very busy 
too, learning how to dress their feathers, — 


44 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

how to dive for food, — how to escape the 
hunter, — how to hide in the grass and rushes 
when any of your family threaten to devour 
them.” 

“Are your children born in the water?” 
asked Jack-a-boy. 

“ Oh, no indeed, they are born in the wood. 
I lay my eggs in a nest in a hollow tree. 

“How to get the babies to the water is 
quite a problem, for, with their short legs and 
webbed toes, walking is not easy. So, just as 
soon as they are hatched, I take them to the 
water. 

“You have seen your cat carry her kittens 
in her mouth, have you not ? 

“Just so, I take my downy little ducklings 
in my mouth, and fly with them to the water’s 
edge. Usually my family is large, and some- 
times I make as many as a dozen trips before 
the children are all at the lakeside. 

“ Then we start into the water. The babies 
take to it at once, and swim as naturally as 
they eat or drink. 


A Disappointed Fox 45 

“Well, Fox, I guess those babies have been 
kept hiding long enough. I will go take them 
out for a little exercise. Good-bye.” 

The duck shot straight up into the air as 
though thrown up by a spring, then disap- 
peared quickly over the hill. 


CHAPTEK IX 


FOXES AT HOME 

“ Come with me, Jack-a-boy,” said the fox, 
“ and I will show you my home and wife and 
babies.” 

Jack-a-boy’s blue eyes danced with pleasure 
as they all trotted off towards Keynard’s den. 

“ Fox,” said Kags, “ we have heard and read 
a great deal about your thousand tricks. 
Won’t you tell us which you think the best ? ” 

“Well now. Rags, it all depends on whom 
you are trying to trick. Suppose you were a 
great hound belonging to a man with a gun. 
Suppose you were Ring. I would treat you 
exactly as I treated him, yesterday. 

“ He was getting rather too close for com- 
fort, and just to give him a little trouble I 
stepped into the stream, though I don’t much 

like to wet my feet. I trotted along in the 
46 


Foxes at Home 


47 

water for some distance. Then I came out 
and sat down on a stone to rest. King came 
racing along the trail until he reached the 
running water. Here, he was balked. He 
trotted up and down both banks, trying to 
scent where I had left the brook. I sat on 
my stone and laughed at the stupid fellow. 
So earnestly did he work, that he did not see 
me when I raised myself on my hind legs to 
get a better glimpse of what he was doing. 

“ Finally he found the trail, but it was so 
stale that he could scarcely follow it. I left 
him working slowly up the hill and went into 
the woods to take a nap. 

“ Perhaps our most clever trick is ‘ ’possum.’ 
Even our wise brother man is often deceived 
in this way. 

“ I remember once my father was caught in 
a severe storm out on the prairie. He lay 
down under the shelter of a stone wall till it 
should pass. Old Farmer Jenks came along 
with five large cottontail rabbits that he had 
captured in the wood. Father saw that he was 


48 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

fairly caught, and quick as a flash decided that 
only the ’possum trick could save his life. The 
next instant he lay stretched upon the ground, 
apparently dead. 

“ ‘ Bill ! Bill ! ’ shrieked the old man in wild 
excitement. ‘ Do come here ! What do you 
think ? An old fox has gone and killed him- 
self right in the path. Guess he must have 
jumped from the wall and fallen down and 
broken his neck.’ 

“Then he prodded father with his cane, 
lifted the tail, exclaiming admiringly, ‘ Finest 
brush I ever saw ! ’ poked his ribs and smoothed 
his head, all the time commenting on his rare 
good fortune in coming across the unfortunate 
fox. 

“ Laying the rabbits down beside the lifeless 
form, he hobbled off to tell Bill the wonder- 
ful news. 

“ You may imagine that father waited only 
long enough for the old man to get out of 
sight. Then seizing two of the rabbits, he was 
off like a streak, never stopping till he reached 


Foxes at Home 


49 

home. I should like to have seen the old man 
on his return. Wouldn’t you ? 

“ Every fox will play ’possum when caught 
in a trap, and if the trapper is unwary enough 
to unlock the spring in the open, the fox nearly 
always is successful in making his dash for lib- 
erty. Here we are at home.” 

“ A queer looking house,” said Prince. “ Only 
a pile of dirt.” 

“That’s not it, stupid. That is only the 
earth that came from the hole.” 

“ Hole ? ” echoed Jack-a-boy. “ Where is the 
hole ? ” 

“ How, friends, when a really cute fox digs 
a new den, he brings all the dirt out at the 
first hole made. From that he digs a tunnel 
into some distant thicket. Then closing up 
the first-made door, he ever after uses the en- 
trance in the thicket. Here we are.” 

“ Oh ! oh ! oh ! ” came from the three friends. 
“ Aren’t they cute ? ” 

There in the doorway sat four little foxes, 
bright little bundles of fur that looked like 


50 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

little woolly lambs, with long, thick legs and 
innocent expressions. 

They played about in the sunshine until a 
slight sound made them scurry underground. 

Just at that moment their mother returned, 
bringing in her mouth a plump little hen. A 
low call and out tumbled the babies. 

They rushed on the chicken, and tusseled 
and fought over it. Their mother kept a sharp 
lookout for enemies, but frequently bestowed 
upon her darlings a glance full of pride and 
love. 

Once the hen almost escaped. The babies 
ran after it like a pack of young hounds, but 
failed to catch it. 

Mother Fox, following in its wake, killed the 
victim and returned it to the children to de- 
vour. 

Mother Fox finds food for the babies until 
they are big enough to hunt for themselves. 
FTo easy task to provide for the hungry little 
mouths. 

Jack-a-boy watched her return one evening 


Foxes at Home 


51 

with sixteen field-mice in her mouth. How 
do you suppose she had carried them ? 

First she laid them on the ground, the bodies 
at a broad angle and the tails crossing each 
other. By gripping the tails where they 
crossed, all the mice were carried at once, half 
hanging on each side of her mouth. She told 
Jack-a-boy that she was sure that she could 
carry chickens in the same way, only she 
could never find enough to make the experi- 
ment. 

The baby foxes must be taught to hunt for 
themselves, and Jack-a-boy had the privilege 
of seeing their first lesson. It was in the hol- 
low close to the den, where a colony of field- 
mice gamboled in the moonlight. 

In teaching baby foxes, as, indeed, in teach- 
ing babies of any kind, the main thing is ex- 
ample. Mother Fox signals, “ Lie still and 
watch ! ” 

They listen with ears erect, till a faint squeak 
tells that the game is near. Mother rises on 
tiptoe in the grass, as high as she can, for the 


52 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

only way to locate a mouse is by the faint 
squeak and the slight movement of the grass. 

A sudden pounce and mother rises with a 
delicious young field-mouse in her mouth. 

“ Come, do like mother ! ” is the next signal. 
The four babies imitate, clumsily enough, 
mother’s poses and starts and gestures. 

When, at length, one of the babies catches 
his own game, for the first time in his life, he 
grinds his little milk teeth in savage delight. 

Ere long all of the babies have become ac- 
quainted, at least, with the methods of mouse 
hunting, and must scamper away back to their 
den. 

IText day the children are taught to play 
’possum. A saucy red squirrel lives in a tree 
near the den. A long standing quarrel exists 
between him and Mother Fox. “ Now,” says 
she, “ I’ll have my revenge on Eed Squirrel 
and teach the babies a lesson at the same 
time. 

“ Lie still, and watch,” she purrs, as she lies 
in the thicket. . 


Foxes at Home 


53 

The babies at the door look out inquisi- 
tively. “ What now ? ” the little faces plainly 
say. But they obediently follow the simple 
command. 

Mother Fox knows full well Bed Squirrel’s 
w eakness, —curiosity. 

She lies flat in the sun, under Ked Squirrel’s 
tree. 

Looking down, he calls out, “Wake up! 
sleepy head ! ” 

But Mother Fox never moves a muscle. 

“Lazy thing! Lazy thing! Wake up! 
Wake up ! ” 

To emphasize his remark, he throws a nut 
right down on Mother Fox’s nose. 

Still she remains silent and lifeless. 

“ Can she be sleeping ? ” ask the little faces 
in the thicket. 

Down creeps little Ked Squirrel, closer and 
yet closer. 

Making a bold dash across the open, he 
chatters from the tree on the opposite side, 
“ Lazy thing ! Lazy thing ! Good for noth- 


54 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

ing ! Good for nothing ! Good for nothing ! 
Wake up ! Wake up ! ” 

But Mother Fox does not stir. 

Keckless Ked Squirrel! Curiosity is his 
end. 

Slowly he creeps up towards the fox, nearer 
yet nearer! He can almost feel her hot 
breath on his furry little sides. Ah, little Ked 
Squirrel, it is too late now ! 

Quick as a flash, the cruel mouth closes 
upon him. And another victim is carried to 
the den for the babies to torment and then 
devour. 

Jack-a-boy’s blue eyes filled with tears. 

“We must live, you know, Jack-a-boy, and 
the squirrel was foolish,” whispered Kaggley 
Ear. “ That is the only way the children can 
be taught to provide for themselves.” 


CHAPTER X 


BUFFALO TELLS HIS STORY 

Living with the foxes was very delightful 
to Jack-a-boy, but he felt that he must be 
going on, if he would make the most of Fairy 
Love All’s generosity. 

The magic wand comes to his aid, and the 
next morning he and his friends awake far 
away, on the side of Mount Carmel. They 
struck a path, evidently made by man. As 
they passed along the path they came to an 
enclosure near a forest. “This must be the 
place belonging to the great man of the 
mountain,” said Rags. “Let us look inside. 
He is always friendly and he always has some 
animal in his wood.” 

At that instant a head peered over the 
hedge and a man’s voice was heard saying, 

“Come in and welcome. There is a huge 
55 


56 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

buffalo back in the wood. Perhaps you will 
like to see him, though he is a surly old fel- 
low. Don’t try to be too friendly.” 

Leading the way into the wood the man 
said, “There he is,” and then he left them. 
Jack-a-boy saw a great shaggy animal, his 
huge head and shoulders adding to his natur- 
ally majestic appearance. The hair on his 
head, neck, and shoulders grew thick and 
abundant, forming a shaggy mane. Along 
his back the hair of the head and shoulders 
was continued in a shaggy line forming a 
prominent back ridge. His tail was short and 
ended in a tuft. His horns were small and 
his hoofs split like those of a cow or sheep. 

“Good-morning, Buffalo,” said Jack-a-boy. 
“We have come to spend a little time with 
you.” 

“ You will find me a dull enough compan- 
ion,” replied the buffalo, shaking his great 
shaggy head. “ How I long for the good old 
days when with my companions I roved the 
prairie with none to dispute our right save the 


Buffalo Tells His Story 57 

Indian, wild as ourselves. Those were our 
golden days. Alas that they can come no 
more.” 

“Tell me about them, Buffalo,” said the 
wise little boy, remembering how well the 
old folks love to tell of the days when they 
were young. 

Buffalo tossed back his flowing mane and 
seemed again to renew his youth as he looked 
into the past. 

As though unconscious of his companions, 
he began, 

“I was leader of as fine a herd as ever 
crossed the prairie. Wherever I led the herd 
followed without question. There were days 
of peace and days of war. And one we en- 
joyed as well as the other. There were times 
when for months we galloped over the plains 
feeding plentifully upon the juicy grasses and 
herbs growing there so abundantly. When 
we were annoyed by the insects, we rolled in 
the mud knowing well such action would 
afford relief. 


58 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

“ Were we never attacked ? Yes, of course, 
but we rather enjoyed that. Many a grizzly 
has tried his strength with mine. My horns 
are short, but they do effective work. The 
grizzly never lived to tell the tale. I have 
seen two or three buffaloes attacked by a whole 
pack of wolves, hungry ones at that. The 
wolves, with all their cunning and strength, 
were no match for the other animals. 

“ Our greatest sport as well as the greatest 
danger came when the Indians rushed upon 
us. They know how to hunt, I can tell you. 

“Sometimes one of their number dresses 
himself in a buffalo skin, and crawling on all 
fours joins the herd. He is wily enough to 
coax some youngster away from the herd. 
Then he can do as he pleases with him. But 
best of all we love to see the Indian on his 
mustang, his hair flung to the breeze, gallop- 
ing after the herd. 

“ A long, hissing noise. Perhaps one of our 
number falls. Perhaps the arrow speeds wide 
of its mark and on we rush. 


Buffalo Tells His Story 59 

‘‘ Again he flings a lasso. Do you know 
what that is ? A rope with a sort of sailor 
knot at one end. The noose is thrown over 
the luckless buffalo’s horn. A quick pull on 
the rope tightens the knot. The buffalo falls 
to the ground and is captured. But that is 
not so bad as what sometimes happens. Nat- 
urally, we follow a leader and sometimes we 
do so rather blindly. Taking advantage of 
our weakness, the hunters drive us on till we 
reach the edge of a precipice. Then circling 
around the herd with shouts and cries, they 
drive them on till too late to retreat, the lead- 
ers are pushed over its edge followed by their 
panic-stricken companions.” 

“ But, Buffalo, you are safe here. I cannot 
understand why you long for the old days so 
full of dangers.” 

I always escaped them, Jack-a-boy. I would 
take all the cold of winter with its scarcity of 
food, all the worst that I have ever gone 
through if but for one day I could again be 
free. But that can never be. The buffalo 


6o Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

herds, like the Indian tribes, are passing away. 
But here we are at the end of my domain. 
Across the path you will find a field. Stop 
there, I think I hear Bob White calling.” 

‘‘ Good-bye, Buffalo. I wish you were going 
with us. I think I hear the call you spoke of. 
Is this it ? ‘ Bob White ! Bob White ! Poor 
Bob White’?” 

“ Yes, that is it. Go on a little farther and 
you will find Bob White himself. Call like he 
does and he will come to you.” 

Much pleased with the idea, Jack-a-boy 
walked along whistling, “Bob White! Bob 
White ! Poor Bob White ! ” 


CHAPTER XI 


TWO BIRD FRIENDS, BOB WHITE AND LITTLE 
GROUSE 

His patience was rewarded. As he neared 
the field he saw a very handsome bird coming 
slowly towards him. His throat was pure 
white, his head marked with black and white, 
and his short, fat body a rich brown. 

“ Jack-a-boy,” he said, “if you were another 
bird I would be very fierce, for you are using 
the call I save for my mate. Do you want to 
see her ? She is covering the eggs now. They 
are wonderful! Row within row of pure 
white eggs ! I think there must be a score of 
them. They will soon be hatched. Then you 
can see the young ones. They are covered 
with down and run off with their mother. 
We both teach them what they must know if 
they are to grow to be old birds. The secret 

of keeping them with us is teaching them 
61 


62 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

how to hide when any danger threatens, and 
they soon learn to do that well. We, unlike 
most birds, rarely leave the field where we are 
born. We live together and you will hear us 
spoken of as ‘a covey of quail.’ We do not 
roost on trees but spend our nights together 
on the ground. We sit on the ground in a 
circle, heads all out to watch for enemies, tails 
in, forming the centre of the circle. You see 
how much warmer and how much more soci- 
able we can be in this way.” 

“ But what do you do for food in winter ? ” 
asked Jack-a-boy. 

“We scratch the snow and ice away and get 
the seeds and grain underneath. Sometimes 
we find a kind-hearted farmer who lets us 
have a little of his winter store of grain.” 

“ Don’t the storms ever harm you ? ” 

“Yes, indeed, there are winters when whole 
coveys of quail are buried under the snow, 
smothered to death in their sleep. But that is 
too sad to talk about.” 

“ Here is the funniest little bird at my feet. 


Bob White and Little Grouse 63 

Bob White. Is he one of your children?” 
said Jack-a-boy. 

“Wait, till I see. No, he is a young grouse. 
Where did you come from, youngster ? You 
look rather frightened.” 

“ I am. I was born over the river in the 
swamp, and my mother told me never to come 
to this side. But I disobeyed, and now I don’t 
know how to get back.” 

“I guess you are sufficiently punished. 
Jack-a-boy, can’t you help him to find his way 
home ? It is right in your direction.” 

“ Of course I will. Come along, little grouse. 
Can you walk so far ? ” 

“ I think I can fly well enough if I can’t 
walk.” 

Jack-a-boy and his friends started for the 
home of the little grouse. Bob White cheering 
them the while with his merry “ Bob White ! 
Bob White ! ” 

“ Tell me about yourself, little grouse,” said 
Jack-a-boy. 

“ There isn’t much to tell you, kind friend. 


64 Jack-a-Boy in Beast- Land 

I have nine brothers and sisters. When we 
were very little we kept close to our mother. 
As we grew larger we began to wander far- 
ther away. But we could always find our 
mother by saying, ‘ Peep ! Peep ! ’ for she 
always answered, ‘ Cluck ! Cluck ! ’ But to-day 
I went too far. When any danger came too 
near, we squatted down on the ground and 
kept very quiet. Mother trailed her wing 
along as though wounded until the attention 
was drawn away from us to her. When she 
was sure we were safe, she ran off in the 
bushes and with a happy ‘ Cluck ! Cluck ! ’ 
gathered us all back again.” 

“ What do you eat ? ” 

“ Berries and spiders and beetles. At night 
we sleep under mother’s wings, though she 
says that soon we must leave her and look out 
for ourselves. Oh, I don’t want to a bit. 
To-day was enough for me. 

“ Mother says that by fall our wings will be 
strong, and that then we can fly into the trees 
and roost in the branches. 


Bob White and Little Grouse 65 

“ She says we must be very careful or the 
foxes and hunters will catch us. I hope they 
won’t. I do want to see one snow-storm.” 

But what will you do for food when the 
ground is covered with ice and snow ? ” 

“ Oh, the buds on many of the trees are very 
fine eating. And do you know, mother says 
that feathers will grow on my toes so that it 
will be just as though I walked on snow-shoes. 
I do want the winter to come, though I will 
miss my brothers and sisters, and mother most 
of all. By next spring I will be a full-grown 
grouse, and then I will find a mate for myself. 
Do you know how I get my mate ? I drum 
for her. Next March I will find a log. I 
stand beside it and spread out my tail, and 
blow out my feathers until there is no hand- 
somer bird in the swamp. Then I will strike 
my wings together behind my back. If you 
are there you will see me do so, and this is 
what people call the grouse drumming. Per- 
haps you will not like the music. It sounds 
as if a small rubber ball were dropped slowly, 


66 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

and then rapidly bounced on a dnimhead. 
The female grouse must like it, for with it the 
grouse coaxes her to become his mate.” 

“ Cluck ! Cluck ! Cluck ! Where can that 
child be?” 

“ Here I am, mother. I will never, never, 
never run away again. Jack-a-boy and his cat 
and dog have brought me home.” 

The mother turned to thank Jack-a-boy. 
But he assured her the gratitude was all his, 
for the little grouse had been very entertain- 
ing and instructive. 

“ You can help me a little, though, if you 
will,” said he. “ I wish very much to meet a 
bear, but I know how very shy he is. Can 
you tell me where I will be most likely to see 
him at home ? ” 

“Certainly! Do you see yonder hill? 
Walk up its steep side, turn a little to the left. 
There among the thick bushes you will find 
his bearship. Catch him in the early morn- 
ing, if you wish to find him in an agreeable 
humor.” 


Bob White and Little Grouse 67 

“ I had better be off then. Had I not ? It’s 
early still.” 

“Yes, I think that would be wise. Don’t 
think me rude for sending you. Welcome the 
coming, speed the parting guest is a good rule, 
you know.” 

“ I am off. Turn to the left, you said, did 
you not ? ” 

Following Mother Grouse’s directions, Jack- 
a-boy soon found himself at Bear’s home. But 
where was Bear ? 


CHAPTEE XII 


AN UNSOCIABLE BEAR AND A FRIENDLY 
FISHERMAN 

Suddenly there appears, it seems from 
nowhere, a bear, big and glossy black, with 
long white teeth and sharp black claws, a 
creature, Jack-a-boy afterwards learns, as 
timid as a rabbit, in spite of his great size. 

Notwithstanding Fairy Love All’s wishes, it 
is almost impossible for the bear to be friendly 
with Jack-a-boy and his companions. But he 
strives to overcome this feeling, and reveals 
to them something of the life and habits of 
bear kind. 

“ Tricks ? ” said he in reply to Jack-a-boy ’s 
question. “Bears haven’t very many. Our 
safety is in our great strength and endurance. 
If the dogs press too hard and close though, 
we have a trick called ‘ Changing Ends,’ that 
is very effective. 


68 


An Unsociable Bear 


69 

“ This is a sudden whirl backward, and woe 
to the unlucky dog who is within reach of the 
bear’s great paw. 

“ The sudden turn causes the dogs to halt, 
while the bear speeds on and gets a good lead 
before the dogs comprehend the trick. 

“ Sometimes bears are caught. My son was 
once, not long ago. 

“It was the great man of the forest who 
trapped him. He did not mean to harm him. 
He only wished to keep him in his woods. So 
he fastened a collar with a huge chain and a 
log on it around son’s neck. 

“ At first he tried to strike it off with his 
great strong paws. Try as hard as he knew 
how he could not succeed in removing the 
chain and log. He then dashed down to the 
river, and taking the log in his front paws, 
threw it out into the stream, expecting to see 
it sink and so rid him of it. It sank, only to 
rise immediately. He tried again and again 
to sink the log, but always without success. 

“ At length, he said, ‘ I’ll bury you, old log, 


yo Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

and then see whether you can come back.’ So 
dragging the heavy log back to the woods, he 
dug a hole and buried it deep. He pawed the 
earth down hard and firm. Then making one 
desperate effort, he strained the chain until it 
broke, and my free-born bear was once more 
at liberty.” 

The bear now left Jack-a-boy and proceeded 
to make a meal of snails, grubs, and worms, 
which he found in a decayed log. His dessert 
was blackberries and wild honey. 

While the bear ate his dinner, Jack-a-boy 
amused himself making pictures of the deep 
tracks Bear had left in the soft earth. They 
looked for all the world like the footprints of 
a barefoot boy. 

Just as the bear finished his dinner a fisher- 
man came round the turn in the path. He 
halted and looked a little scared, though he 
tried to pucker his lips to whistle. He noticed, 
to his surprise, that the bear looked scared, 
too, so without waiting to make sure, he made 
a bold dash as though to strike him. 


An Unsociable Bear 

Bear took to his heels, and racing for life 
down the hillside, was soon lost to sight. 

“ Well ! I am glad that he has gone ! ” said 
the relieved fisherman. 

“ He is a very nice bear,” said Jack-a-boy ; 
“he has just been telling me about how bears 
live, and now I don’t believe he will come 
back.” 

“ Come down to the stream with me ! ” said 
the fisherman, “ perhaps I know a great deal 
about your friend and will tell you ! ” 

“ These are my friends, Bags and Prince, 
Mr. Fisherman. May they come with you, 
too ? ” said Jack-a-boy. 

“ Certainly ! Certainly ! I would not think 
of leaving them behind. 

“The bear was eating his dinner, was he 
not? Did you ever see him rob an ant-hill 
for the ants and their eggs ? There is nothing, 
unless it is molasses, that he likes so well as 
ants. He knocks the top of their house off 
with his great paw. And then, putting his lips 
to the centre of the nest, he draws in a deep 


72 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

quick breath. This sets up such a current of 
air that all the ants and their larvas come 
whirling up into his mouth.’’ 

“ Like change through the pneumatic tube in 
a department store,” laughed Jack-a-boy. 

“Exactly. He is extremely fond of wild 
honey, too. When he discovers a decayed tree 
in which the bees have hidden their store, 
he knocks it down. Then using all his 
strength, he tears open the side of the tree, 
and reaches the honey which he eagerly be- 
gins to eat. The bees know that there is no 
use in trying to sting him, his skin is too 
thick, a fact of which he is fully aware. So, 
rather than leave all the honey for him, they 
join in the feast at their own expense. 

“ Ah, there he is now ! I do not believe 
any one need fear a bear if he will only keep 
quiet and let him alone.” 

“We need not at least. See, Eairy Love 
All has given me her magic wand. It makes 
all the beasts of the forest as tame as Eags 
and Prince.” 


An Unsociable Bear 


73 

If Mr. Fisherman heard Jack-a-boy, he did 
not comprehend. Little folks know and under- 
stand a great deal more about fairies than 
grown-up people possibly can. 

“ He is a great clumsy fellow,” continued 
the fisherman, ‘‘but I think there is not a 
beast on the mountain who moves about as 
quietly as this ungainly bear. Often he will 
creep through the underbrush, making less 
noise than a squirrel would do. He rarely 
disturbs another animal unless it first molests 
him. 

“ I once read of a bear who belonged to a 
king. He was kept in a log hut in the palace 
grounds. One evening, a child foot-sore and 
weary, stopped to rest in his cabin. The boy 
was well-nigh dead with cold and hunger. 
The bear took him in his great arms and 
pressed him to his bosom until he revived. 
Then he divided with him the supper the 
keeper had brought to him a short time be- 
fore. For several nights the child returned to 
the bear. He found each time that the bear 


74 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

had saved a portion of his food for him. 
When he lay down to sleep the bear stood 
guard over him. At last the keeper found the 
child and attempted to carry him away. The 
bear became furiously angry, and would have 
attacked the servant. The story was told to 
the king, who went himself to see the bear’s 
protege. 

“ In some mysterious way the bear realized 
that the king would befriend the little 
stranger, and suffered him to lead the child 
away. 

“The king took the child to his castle, 
where he became a great favorite, and all the 
comforts and pleasures in the king’s power to 
bestow were given him. 

“ You may be sure he never forgot his great 
friend in the wood, who had not only saved 
his life, but had brought him the best of 
friends and fortune. 

“ The baby bears or cubs are quite as play- 
ful as young foxes, while their clumsiness 
makes them even more comical. 


An Unsociable Bear 75 

“Frequently, when the mother returns 
home from her search for food, the babies 
are nowhere to be seen. She calls and coaxes, 
but they do not come to her, nor do they utter 
a sound. Mother Bear must search out their 
hiding-place. What shouts of bear laughter 
greet the ear when Mother Bear at last dis- 
covers where the babies are hidden. 

“Sometimes they climb up a tree, and sit 
and look down with the greatest enjoyment, as 
mother searches for them in every hole or 
hollow tree. 

“ Once in awhile, a little bear climbs up a 
tree and then does not know how to get down. 
There he sits and whimpers, while the wind 
sways him to and fro. When Mother Bear 
thinks him sufficiently frightened, she climbs 
the tree after him and carries him back to 
their hole. 

“ Most all bears are very fond of fish, and 
they frequently go fishing on a moonlight 
night. No, of course they do not use rods 
like mine. They use their paws. They stand 


76 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

for hours in the shallow water and wait for 
the fish to come up the stream. As the fish 
swims by a bear, he quickly puts his paw 
under it and flips it out on the bank. Before 
the fish can recover itself and jump back into 
the water, the bear has him in his mouth. I 
have seen them catch frogs in the same way. 

“ Bears sometimes fight each other. Possi- 
bly three or four bears live in the same 
woods, and it may be that there is a certain 
dainty bear that they all wish for a wife. 
Each decides to pay her a visit. The first 
bear reaches her home. He stands on his hind 
legs against a tree-trunk. Beaching as high 
as he possibly can, he scratches and tears the 
bark with his front claws. Then placing his 
back against the tree, he turns his head and 
bites out of the trunk a great mouthful of 
wood. 

“ Each bear who comes that way measures 
his size against his rival’s. If he is larger, he 
follows him to fight. If he is smaller, he 
prudently retires.” 


An Unsociable Bear 77 

“ How does the bear live in winter ? Can 
you tell me, Mr. Fisherman?” said Jack-a- 
boy. 

“ Oh, yes, he lives in a hole in the ground, 
or in some hollow tree. Early in the autumn, 
the bear selects his winter quarters. To this 
place he carries sticks, leaves, spruce boughs 
and soft moss. With these he lines his room, 
lies down and goes to sleep till spring comes 
again. If his ‘Hole Up,’ as he calls this 
winter home, is in the ground, you can easily 
find it, after the snow falls. There is a little 
hole right up through the snow, which is all 
yellow around the edges. Through this he 
gets air. When there is frost in the air, you 
can see his breath as it comes up through the 
hole. 

“ But, Jack-a-boy, haven’t you learned 
enough about these wild animals ? Can’t you 
spend the rest of your time with me ? ” 

“ Oh, thank you, Mr. Fisherman, but I think 
I cannot accept your invitation. Fairy Love 
All told me that I might stay until I had seen 


all of the animals, and I fear it would be im- 
polite not to do so.” 

“Well, here is ray boat. Good-bye, little 
man ! Take good care of the cat and dog. 
Some time I will meet you again, so be sure to 
remember what you see. You must tell me 
all about it.” 

The trio pushed on. The day wore away 
till at length the sun sank behind the hill. 
The little clouds folded themselves in their 
gray blankets and floated softly over the dark- 
ening sky. One by one the stars came out 
and began their silent march across the 
heavens. 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE BEARS IN THE SKY 

Our little friends paused in their journey- 
ing and lay down to rest. 

Suddenly Prince exclaimed, “ Why, Jack-a- 
boy, I forgot, I know a splendid bear story. 

“ Look there in the northern sky, a little to 
the west. Do you see some stars that seem to 
make a dipper ? They really are called ‘ Great 
Dipper,’ and are part of a group known as the 
‘ Great Bear.’ ” 

“Mother has told me a beautiful legend 
about the ‘Great Dipper,’ but I have never 
heard anything about a bear in the sky.” 

“Well, there are bears in the sky, two of 
them, ‘ Great Bear ’ and ‘ Little Bear.’ 

“The two stars in the Dipper farthest 
from the handle are called pointers because 
they point nearly to the Pole or North Star.” 

“I know the Pole Star,” said Jack-a-boy. 

79 


8o Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

“It is the sailor’s best friend, for it always 
stays in the same part of the sky, and that 
part he knows is the north.” 

“The Pole Star is the end of the Little 
Bear’s tail. Now see whether you can find 
the bears while I tell you their story. 

“ Many, many years ago, in a land near to 
the rising sun, there stood a tall mountain. 
On its summit lived a great and powerful 
king, called Jupiter. 

“ He had a very beautiful wife. Queen Juno. 
Now although the Queen was exceedingly 
beautiful herself, she was not willing that any 
other woman should be so. When she looked 
down into the valleys below her home and 
saw those who were fair and lovely she be- 
came filled with jealousy and longed to harm 
them. 

“ At the foot of her mountain home was a 
dense forest. A beautiful princess lived here. 
She spent her time hunting the deer and other 
beasts of the wood. One day she sped far up 
the mountainside in chase of a deer. 


The Bears in the Sky 8i 

“Now it happened that the Queen that 
morning walked in that direction. 

“ When she spied the lovely Princess, her 
heart was filled with jealous rage, and she de- 
termined that she should no more roam the 
mountain. 

“‘Become a bear and be hunted as you 
have hunted I ’ she exclaimed. 

“ The beautiful Princess fell to the ground. 
Her soft white hands and feet became huge 
paws. Her dainty fingers grew into great 
ugly claws. 

“ ‘ What have I done that you should treat 
me so ? ’ she tried to exclaim, but only fierce 
growls came through her jaws. Long coarse 
hair covered her delicate skin. And so she 
was compelled to roam the forest, unrecog- 
nized by the friends with whom she had 
hunted day after day. 

“Once as she slowly walked through the 
woods, she came across her only son. 

“‘Surely he will know me,’ she thought, 
‘ his own mother.’ 


82 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

“ ‘ My boy ! ’ she called, reaching out her 
arms to fold him close to her bosom. 

“But he saw only a savage bear rushing 
upon him, and raising his hunting spear was 
about to slay her when King Jupiter stayed 
his hand. Filled with pity for the unfortu- 
nate mother and her child he changed him, 
too, into a bear and carrying both to the sky, 
he chained them near the den of the North 
Star. There you may find them. Great Bear 
and Little Bear. 

“Well, Jack-a-boy, have you found the bears 
or are you fast asleep ? ” 

“Of course I am not asleep, and I have 
found the bears, too. See! Here are their 
pictures ! ” 

Lifting a sharp stick, Jack-a-boy quickly 
traced the two bears’ portraits upon the soft 
earth. 

“ But how did Queen Juno feel when she 
saw the bears in the sky ? ” 

“She was very angry and begged Old 
Ocean not to allow them to bathe in his cool 


83 


The Bears in the Sky 

waters. So they prowl round and round the 
North Star and never sink below the horizon 
as the sun and moon and other stars do.” 

“Now go to sleep. Bright and early to- 
morrow morning you know. We lost time 
to-day.” 

Silently the night passed by. The stars 
sank to rest. The sun peeped shyly above the 
horizon. Morning stole softly o’er hill and 
valley. Then our three little travelers rose 
and resumed their journey. 

“ What a perfect morning,” said Jack-a-boy. 
“ How bright and cheerful everything is.” 


CHAPTEK XIV 


BOBIN BED BBEAST AND HIS FAMILY 

Some one was happy for, “ Cheer up ! 
Cheer up ! Be cheery ! Be cheery ! ” burst 
through the early morning air from the top- 
most bough of a near-by tree. 

Looking up, Jack-a-boy saw Eobin Ked 
Breast perched beside his nest in the fork of 
a maple branch. 

“Come up, Jack-a-boy, and see my babies I ” 
he sang, “ the mother is away getting her break- 
fast, and you can have a good look at them.” 

Up! Up! Jack-a-boy rose, till he found 
himself on the branch where the nest hung. 

The nest itself was a cup of clay, thickened 
around the top. It was well moulded and 
covered inside and out with dry grass. 

To the eyes of the father and mother birds, 
no doubt the children were beautiful. But 

Jack-a-boy thought them very homely. 

64 


Robin Red Breast and His Family 85 

They were covered with gray fuzz. On the 
sides of their heads were two bulging lumps, 
which Robin said would open as eyes when 
the babies were three days old. Their mouths 
were wide open as though demanding food. 
No tail of any account was visible, and the 
wings were nothing like so large as a new 
born chick’s. 

What a contrast the handsome father bird 
was ! His head was black, his body olive 
gray. A vest of ruddy hue adorned his 
breast. His wings were black with flecks of 
white on the outer quills. His eyelids were 
white, his bill yellow and his feet of darker 
color. His mate, returning with a number of 
worms, looked very like him, save that her 
colors were all paler. 

How greedily the babies seized the worms ! 
Baby robins are always hungry, always cry- 
ing, “ More ! More ! ” Father and mother 
both work industriously to provide enough 
food for their little family. 

Leaving the mother to look after the chil- 


86 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

dren, Kobin flew to the ground, beckoning 
Jack-a-boy to follow. The moment he alighted 
Kobin thrust his bill into the soil, throwing 
up a little shower of earth. Again and again 
he did this, sometimes so quickly that he was 
thrown off his feet by the jerk. 

So he went on, never eating a morsel, but 
gathering the worms until he had four or five 
wriggling from his bill. 

Then he flew back to the nest, and dispo- 
sing of his load, returned for more. After 
doing this till it seemed as though the babies 
in the tree-top must really be stuffed, he sat 
down at Jack-a-boy ’s feet. 

“ Will those children ever grow to look like 
you ? ” asked Jack-a-boy. 

‘‘ Yes, indeed. In about ten days they will 
be well feathered, and so large that they will 
crowd the mother quite out of the nest. Then 
they will be taught how to fly, and how to 
get their living. In a short time you will not 
be able to tell the daughters from their 
mother, or the sons from their father.” 


Robin Red Breast and His Family 87 

“ I wish I could see you teach them to fly,” 
said Jack-a-boy. 

“ I wish you could, but I can tell you about 
it, and perhaps that will do as well. 

“ One tine morning, when the babies are old 
enough, we determine that they shall learn to 
use their wings. That day not a morsel of 
food do we bring them. Instead, we gather 
the choicest worms, and, perching near the 
nest in full sight of the fledglings, devour 
them. The babies cry of course, but we must 
be cruel for their own good. 

“ Away we fly and return shortly with 
more worms which we eat as before. All the 
time we chirrup, ‘ Come ! Come ! little folks, 
get up and tind these delicious morsels for 
yourselves. They are very tine indeed.’ 

“ Soon the bravest of the little brood 
stretches his tiny wings and hops to the edge 
of the nest. There he clings, a little quiver- 
ing ball of down. 

Mother coaxes, ‘ Look into the sky ! Spread 
your wings ! Now fly ! ’ 


88 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

‘‘ A few awkward attempts and baby robin 
flies, a tiny flight, only to the nearest branch. 
But how delighted we are ! Kobin is fed and 
petted and coaxed till he very willingly tries 
again and again his little wings. 

“No attention is paid to the little ones in 
the nest, and seeing themselves in a fair way 
to be starved, they make up their minds to 
follow their brother’s example. Soon all the 
little robins are trying their little wings, some 
timidly, some with greater courage. A few 
days’ practice and away we all fly together. 
The old home in the tree-top knows us no 
more. 

“ I see you admire my red vest, Jack-a-boy. 
Do you know how it came to be red ? It is 
one of the prettiest stories in bird lore.” 

“ I do not know the story, will you tell it to 
me, Kobin ? ” 

“ Long, long ago,” began the bird, “ there 
was only one small fire in the whole dreary 
Northland. An old man and his son watched 
over the fire, and saw that it never for an in- 


Robin Red Breast and His Family 89 

stant stopped burning. Day after day, night 
after night, they sat patiently watching the 
embers fade and glow. 

“ On an evil day the father fell ill. 

“White Bear, in the distance, watched. 
‘ Now,’ said he, ‘ the fire will go out and every 
one in the Northland will perish. Ha ! Ha ! 
Hal Who then so happy as I? The whole 
Northland will be mine ! All mine ! ’ 

“ For many days the little lad cared for the 
sick father and kept the fire burning, too. 
But alas ! his puny strength was all too small 
for so difficult a task. A night came when 
his strength failed and the child fell asleep at 
his post. 

“ White Bear stole silently upon him. He 
trampled upon the few small coals with his 
wet feet. 

“‘Ha! Ha! Ha!’ he shouted. ‘It is out! 
Not a spark of fire in the whole Northland ! 
It is mine at last! Not a spark of fire 
left!’ 

“Not a spark? Yes, one. And a small 


go Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

gray brown bird’s bright eyes spied it out. 
Could he save ‘the ITorthland ? He was only 
a little bird but he would do his best. 

“ Hour after hour, he patiently fanned the 
one spark with his wings, till at length it 
glowed large and bright. He could not risk 
White Bear’s return and destruction of his 
work. So taking a burning coal in his bill he 
flew with it to the nearest hut. Coming back 
again and again, he carried away coal after 
coal, till every home in the Northland had a 
portion of the living Are. His feet and breast 
and bill were burned, but he did not mind 
that. He had saved the Northland. 

“ White Bear was mad with rage when he 
heard the shouts of rejoicing, and saw the 
flres glowing in all the land. He knew he 
was beaten forever now, and sullenly returned 
to his home in an icy cave by the river. Eob- 
in’s breast, till that day brown, was burned 
by the fire till it glowed like its embers. 
From that time it has kept its ruddy hue. 

“ Now I must make up for lost time ! Sixty- 


Robin Red Breast and His Family 91 

eight worms every five minutes! That is 
what those children eat.” 

A frightened “ Cherk ! Cherk ! ” and Robin 
flew to the tree-top. 

Jack-a-boy turned hastily, and there at his 
feet coiled a huge black snake. Jack-a-boy 
quivered with terror. Its gaze was not fixed 
on him, however, but on some object above. 
At the same instant, he heard from the sumac 
by the rock, the distressed cry of a Chipping 
Sparrow. The little bird, perched upon a 
slender twig, fluttered its wings as though it 
would fly, but held captive by the steady gaze 
of the snake, could not make its escape. 
Clearer and nearer the snake raised itself 
toward the little frightened bird. Suddenly, 
all Jack-a-boy ’s courage returned and seizing 
the ugly head in his small hand, he threw the 
snake to the other side of the path. The 
birdling, released, flew to the topmost bough 
of the sumac and thrilled his song of thanks 
to the brave little child. 

‘‘ Jack-a-boy,” said Rags, “ that snake might 


92 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

have bitten you. Why did you not use the 
magic wand ? It was right there.” 

“I never thought of it, Eags. I only saw 
that the poor little bird needed help, and I did 
what I could.” 

“ Dear little chap ! Hear him now ! Ugh, 
I am glad that the ugly snake did not get 
him ! ” 


CHAPTER XY 


AN ESKIMO PUSSY AND ITS MOTHER. 

The trio again resumed their travels. Days 
passed, and at length they found themselves 
in a land covered with ice and snow. 

Huge fields of ice floated in the streams. 
Great icebergs towered above them. Xot a 
creature was in sight. 

Suddenly, the sharp-eyed Prince spied a 
little white furry creature gamboling by the 
river. 

“What is that animal in the distance, Jack- 
a-boy ? Can you tell ? ” said he. 

“ It looks like a kitten. Do you think it 
can be one. Rags ? ” 

“Xo, it can’t,” replied the dog. “There 
are no cats in Eskimo land, so there can’t be 
any kittens. But I know what it is, I am 
sure. It is a baby seal.” 

93 


94 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

“ What makes you think that ? ” 

“I heard a story once which makes me 
think that I must be right. 

‘‘ When the Peary Relief Expedition came 
up here a few years ago, there was a little 
white kitten aboard the ship. 'Now the 
natives had never seen a kitten and they could 
not speak English. Yet the instant they spied 
the frolicsome little thing they called, ‘ Pussy ! 
Pussy ! ’ 

“The gentleman who told me the story 
said that they were very much puzzled over 
the matter until they learned that a baby seal 
is very like a cat, and that the Eskimo word 
for baby seal sounds like pussy. 

“So when I see what looks very like a cat, 
I conclude that it must be a baby seal. And 
look ! There is its mother.” 

A large dark creature rose suddenly from the 
water and grasped the baby seal in its arms. 

Such a pretty picture they made, — the 
mother with her pretty rounded head, intelli- 
gent face and large dark eyes, — the baby, her 


An Eskimo Pussy and Its Mother 95 

miniature in white, leaning so confidingly 
against her bosom. 

“ Come here, pretty creature ! We won’t 
harm your baby,” said Jack-a-boy. 

“ I know you won’t,” replied the seal. ‘‘ But 
I am sentinel at present and dare not leave my 
post.” 

“Do you live there ? ” asked Jack-a-boy. 

“We spend most of our time in the water,” 
replied the seal. “ Our small heads, sloping 
shoulders, and plump bodies tapering toward 
the tail, make it easy for us to glide through 
it. Our short legs are well suited to swim- 
ming, too, though the hind ones do not move 
very freely. They are set far back, and are so 
bound down by the skin that they look as 
though they were part of the tail.” 

“ It must be very cold in the water. Isn’t 
it?” 

“ It probably is very cold in the water, but 
we do not feel the cold. Our thick fur and the 
layer of fat under the skin are a great protec- 
tion against the icy water.” 


96 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

“ What do you eat ? ” asked J ack-a-boy. 

“Fish, mostly.” 

“ Don’t you ever come ashore ? ” 

“ Oh, yes, indeed ! We go there to feed our 
young or to sleep in the sunshine. You re- 
member I said when you first came here that 
I am the sentinel. Just below me, on the rocks 
a great many seals are sleeping. My duty as 
sentinel is to warn them when any danger 
threatens. 

“ The Eskimo are always trying to capture 
us, for we are very valuable to them. They 
use our flesh for food, the fat for fuel and for 
giving light, and the skin for clothing and for 
covering their huts and boats.” 

“ You don’t look a bit like my mother’s seal- 
skin coat,” said Jack-a-boy. 

“ No, indeed ; my soft fur is quite hidden by 
these long coarse hairs. When the skins are 
prepared these are pulled out and the soft yel- 
lowish fur is left underneath. The fur is then 
dyed a pretty brown. Now I must leave you. 
Here comes the relief sentinel.” 


An Eskimo Pussy and Its Mother 97 

“ Good-bye,” called Jack-a-boy, as the seal 
took Pussy in her arms and dropped into the 
water below the rock. 

“ Let us stay here and watch for the seals to 
come from their sun-bath and take their swim. 
How I wish we could saw down a little tree 
and build a fire,” said Jack-a-boy. “ It would 
make it very much more cheerful in the snow.” 


CHAPTEK XYI 


A CLEVER LITTLE WOOD-CUTTER 

“ Saw a tree down ! Saw a tree down ! ” said 
a voice at Jack-a-boy’s side. “ Why I can do 
that, just as easily as the lumberman, and just 
as well, too. Come over here and see me.” 

Jack-a-boy approached the voice, and saw in 
the moonlight a timid little animal that Prince 
introduced as Beaver. 

Beaver was a queer looking little fellow, 
about one foot high and two or three feet long. 
He wore a coat of soft brown fur. His eyes 
were small and far apart, his ears tiny, and his 
nose blunt. 

“ Where is your saw, Beaver ? ” asked Jack- 
a-boy. 

“Eight here,” replied Beaver, opening his 
mouth and showing Jack-a-boy his strong, 
sharp teeth. 


98 


A Clever Little Wood-Cutter 99 

He at once put his saw to use, on a small 
tree that grew near by. He gnawed and 
gnawed away until he was nearly through the 
trunk. Then he jumped aside to see whether 
the tree was beginning to bend. Seeing it was 
still straight, he set to work again. 

“ C-r-e-a-k ! ” said the tree. 

The busy little worker ran away just in 
time. The next instant the tree lay upon the 
ground. 

J ack-a-boy was delighted. “ That is the pret- 
tiest cut I ever saw, Beaver. You are a won- 
derfully clever little wood-cutter.” 

“ Not so very ! Jack-a-boy, not so very ! ” 

“ Come here, youngsters,” he called to his 
two sons, who were romping by the stream. 
“ Gnaw all the branches off this tree, and cut 
the trunk into small pieces. If you will come 
down to the stream with me, Jack-a-boy, I will 
show youi^ur home.” 

As Beaver led the way, Jack-a-boy noticed 
that his broad oar-shaped tail was not covered 
with fur as his body was, but that instead, 
LofC. 


loo Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

little scales like fish scales covered it all over. 
His hind feet, too, told J ack-a-boy that Beaver’s 
home must be in the water, for he noticed a 
thin skin between the toes that showed he was 
fitted for swimming. 

“ In summer-time,” said Beaver, “ we live in 
holes near the banks of the river. We are 
social little animals and never live alone. We 
go in parties and build a beaver town in some 
pond or running stream.” 

“Tell me how you make your town, will 
you, Beaver ? ” 

“ I am going to show you our home. Ah, 
here we are now. 

“ You see the first thing we do is to build a 
dam across the stream with logs of wood kept 
down by mud and stones. This dam stops the 
water and makes it rise around our houses and 
cover the openings at the bottom. The houses 
themselves we build of mud, stones, sticks, and 
branches twined in and out to keep them fast. 
The houses are several feet high and quite 
thick. There are two large rooms in them. 


A Clever Little Wood-Cutter loi 


One is under water and is used for a store- 
room.” 

“What do you store in it, Beaver?” asked 
Jack-a-boy. 

“You know we must have food to eat 
during the winter, so we gather logs and 
branches and put them away in our store- 
room. The bark from these, and a few water 
plants are our winter food supply. After we 
eat the bark from the logs we float them down 
against the dam to be used in repairing breaks. 

“The other room in our house is above 
water. The floor is covered with soft moss. 
This is the living-room. In winter we stay at 
home. A sentinel is on duty at all times to 
warn us of approaching danger. He does so 
by striking his broad flat tail on the water. 

“ It is very rarely that any of us are caught. 
There is a trapper here now who is the clever- 
est man I ever saw. I very much fear that he 
will get some of us before the winter is over. 
Last night he broke the ice and shoved down 
into the water a beautiful piece of poplar tree. 


102 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

with a trap fastened to it. Of course it froze 
there. My eldest son saw it this morning, and 
thinking it had floated from the storeroom 
went down in the water to recover it. Find- 
ing he could not budge it, he climbed up to 
gnaw it off at the ice. ‘ Bing ! ’ went the trap. 
Son was caught by the toe. Bather than re- 
main there to be carried away by the trapper, 
he gnawed his toe off, and came quickly home 
to be cared for. 

“Now let us go see whether those boys have 
done what I told them.” He found the work 
completed. 

“ You are a good pair of workers, boys,” he 
proudly said. 

“There, Jack-a-boy, you can build a half 
dozen fires with the wood they have piled for 
you. Good-night ! Come along, boys, it is 
time to go to sleep.” 


CHAPTEK XYII 


BLUE WOLF HAS MUCH TO SAY 

Jack-a-boy built the fire and sat down in 
its cheerful glow. 

All at once he saw coming toward him what 
looked like a pack of wild fierce dogs. 

They had the same pointed heads, the same 
wide mouths, the same long, sharp pointed 
teeth. 

“I think they are wolves,” said Eags. 
“ They are very like a dog in looks, but while 
he is tame and gentle, they are savage and 
wild.” 

They certainly looked savage. Jack-a-boy 
quaked in spite of the magic wand. But trust- 
ing in its power, he kept his seat by the fire 
he had built. 

The wolves came on. They saw the fire, 

which no wolf will approach, and the little 
103 


104 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

group seated by it. They saw, too, the Fairy 
Love All’s magic wand, and yielded to its 
influence. 

“A storm is raging, Jack-a-boy. This 
always means a truce among the beasts of 
the forest. We would rest a while. May we 
stay with you ? ” 

“ Indeed we will be very glad to have you,” 
replied the child. The wolves seated them- 
selves in a half circle far enough away from 
the fire for comfort. 

Jack-a-boy gathered courage as he gazed on 
the silent forms in the snow. One wolf, 
larger than the others, seemed to have a 
kindly face. 

Addressing him, Jack-a-boy said, “Blue 
Wolf, will you tell me who you are ? ” 

“I am leader of this pack,” replied the 
giant. “You see I differ in color from the 
others, though I belong to the same family. 
Once in a long while one of the gray wolves 
grows larger than his fellows, and wears a blue 
coat. This rarely happens, and the wolf so 


Blue Wolf Has Much to Say 105 

distinguished is chosen by the others as their 
leader. 

“ Our home is in the wild northern forest. 
There I lead my followers in search of food. 
A wolf, they say, is always hungry. Perhaps 
it is true. At any rate, this I know is true. 
No matter how scarce the food, the pack always 
has enough. That is because we work together. 
Each for all, and all for each.” 

“ My story-books tell some aw’ful tales of the 
wolves. Are they true. Blue Wolf ? ” 
“Suppose you tell me a story-book story, 
Jack-a-boy, and I will tell you how much of it 
is true.” 

So Jack-a-boy began, “ It was many, many 
years ago that a famine swept through the land. 
Man nor beast could get but little to eat. The 
pack was lean and gaunt and hungry. ‘Is 
there no way ? ’ whispered one to another. 

“ Yes, one. 

“Bells, softly tinkling across the snow, an- 
swer, ‘Yes, one way.’ Nearer, yet nearer, to 
the starving pack the sound is coming I 


io6 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

“ A light flashes around the turning ! Hoofs 
clank over the frozen ground! Horses and 
sleigh dash in sight ! The wolves spring upon 
them ! 

“ The horses, maddened with terror at the 
sight of the starving pack seem to fly across 
the snow. 

“ The wolves follow in their track, their eyes 
flashing fire ! 

“ Suddenly, the sharp cry of a baby voice 
rings through the silence. 

“ ‘ See, brother, the big dog is trying to take 
me from you ! Oh, don’t let him do it ! ’ 

“The baby’s scream of terror wakens the 
boy to action. A flash of fire ! A loud re- 
port! A wolf falls dead! The pack halts 
long enough to devour the fallen comrade. 
Then on ! on ! 

“ The momentary pause saves the precious 
lives of the golden-haired baby and her brave 
brother. 

“The towers of the city loom in sight! 


Blue Wolf Has Much to Say 107 

New courage is infused into the horses ! One 
last desperate effort, and they are safe ! 

“ The pack steals away with unsatisfied 
longings, unappeased appetites, to lie in wait 
for some more unfortunate victim. 

“But ah! Blue Wolf, suppose the boy had 
faltered ; suppose the horses had made a fatal 
misstep! Think of the golden-haired baby, 
the dark-eyed laddie, the anguish of dear ones 
at home.” 

A few minutes’ silence, and then Blue Wolf 
says, “Yes, that story is probably all true. 
We hunt differently when on the trail of a 
single animal, and it is rarely that one escapes 
us. One or two of the pack follow on the 
footsteps of our prey. The remainder of the 
band take their positions to the right and left 
of the leaders. If the animal pursued turns 
aside, it cannot escape us. 

“ No matter how fleet the animal, it must 
surely be overtaken by the long, slouching, 
tireless gallop of the wolves. However great 
its strength may be, it must fail at length 


io8 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

under the constant attack of their sharp 
teeth. 

“ But why should we be less cruel ? Man’s 
whole life seems to be one great struggle to 
end ours. 

“Walk through the woods with me and 
what shall we see? Traps, poisons, dogs, 
hunters, trying to take away from us our 
freedom and our lives. 

“ Perhaps they would succeed more often, 
were they more careful in their preparations. 
For a wolf’s scent is wonderfully keen, and he 
will approach nothing a human being has 
touched. So, nearly always man’s traps and 
poisons are detected by the pack. The traps 
are deliberately sprung. The poisons are most 
carefully avoided. 

“ Yes, we are cruel, — cruel to man,— cruel 
to every other beast in the forest, — cruel at 
times to our own. But remember, Jack-a-boy, 
each must live after his nature. The same 
One who gave to you a tender and loving 
heart, gave to us a savage nature, and an 


Blue Wolf Has Much to Say 109 

innate desire to ‘ Kill and eat ! Kill and 
eat P 

“ But oh, I wish the story-books would tell 
something more than what seems to be only 
cruelty. Have you never heard another side 
to the story ? Something like this ? ” 

An Adventure 

High'np on the lonely mountains, 

The Indians watched and waited ; 

There were wolves in the forest and bears in the bush, 
And I on my path belated. 

The rain and the night together came down, 

And the wind came after. 

Bending the props of the pine tree roof. 

And snapping many a rafter. 

I crept along in the darkness. 

Stunned and bruised and blinded, — 

Crept to a fir with thick-set boughs. 

And a sheltering rock behind it. 

There from the blowing and the raining. 

Crouching, I sought to hide me: 

Something rustled, two green eyes shone, 

And a wolf lay down beside me. 

There we two, in the storm and wind, — 

I and the wolf together, — 

Side by side, through the long, long night, 

Hid from the awful weather. 


1 lO 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

His wet fur pressed against me; 

Each of us warmed the other: 

Each of us felt, in the stormy dark, 

That man and beast were brother. 

And when the fallen forest 
No longer crashed in warning. 

Each of us went from our hiding-place 
Forth in the wild, wet morning. 

— Bayard Taylor. 

“You probably think Mr. Putnam’s adven- 
ture with the wolf shows his bravery. Per- 
haps we wolves think it shows the wolf’s 
bravery, too. You know the story, do you 
not ? No ? Then listen while I tell you. 

“A mother wolf and her two little ones, 
wild with hunger, one night killed seventy of 
his sheep. Of course, man would not tolerate 
this. The next day a number of them pur- 
sued Mother Wolf and the cubs who fled to 
the forest. One man or even three the old 
wolf could have managed to defeat. But 
more than that number must at length defeat 
her. Hiding her babies securely, as she 
thought, she fled, hoping the hunters would 
be misled by the trail and the lives of her 


Blue Wolf Has Much to Say in 

cliildren saved. Alas ! Man is a wise animal. 
The cubs were soon found and killed. But for 
caring for their safety, the mother could have 
escaped. Xow she was doomed. The bay of 
the dogs and the trampling of the hunters’ 
feet tell her how close they are upon her. A 
cave offers shelter. But the dogs betray her 
hiding-place. 

“The hunters tried to smoke her out by 
burning straw and brimstone outside the 
mouth of the cave. But she quietly endured 
this. 

“ Mr. Putnam, becoming impatient, at last 
entered the cave himself. He had first tied a 
rope around his legs by which his friends were 
to pull him out of the cave, should the wolf 
attempt to attack him. 

“ He was forced to crawl in upon his hands 
and knees. After going some thirty feet, he 
saw the eyes of the wolf glaring upon him in 
the darkness. She uttered a roar of defiance. 
Without waiting for the signal, the men out- 
side drew Mr. Putnam back so hastily that the 


112 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

clothing was torn from his bod}^ and the skin 
badly scraped. 

“Nothing daunted, however, he took his 
gun and torch and once more entered the cave. 
Crawling near to the old wolf, and waiting till 
she was about to spring, he shot her between 
the eyes. 

“He was again pulled out of the cave, 
deafened by the noise and choked and blinded 
by the smoke. 

“The third time he entered the cave he 
found the wolf cold and stiff. 

“ Taking firm hold of her ears he and the 
wolf were drawn out together. 

“ For many years the sheep-killer’s coat was 
shown as a trophy of Mr. Putnam’s skill and 
bravery. It may be yet for all I know. 

“ Let me tell you a secret, Jack-a-boy. All 
wolves are not friendly, and it may be of use 
to you some time. If you meet a wolf face to 
face, look him in the eye, and speak sharply 
and decidedly to him, and you will find that 
he will turn his back on you and steal off 


Blue Wolf Has Much to Say 113 

in the opposite direction. For some reason, 
every wolf fears the human voice.” 

By this time Jack-a-boy’s blue eyes were 
heavy with sleep. The lids fell, and Jack-a- 
boy heard nothing more. The wolves silently 
slipped away into the darkness and the storm, 
but Jack-a-boy slept on. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


A DEER YARD AND WHAT JACK-A-BOT SAW 
THERE 

“ Ugh ! Have they gone ? ” a voice near by 
suddenly inquired. Jack«a-boy, only half 
awake, sleepily rubbed his eyes and murmured, 
“Who? What do you mean? Oh, the 
wolves. Why, they are not here. But who 
is talking to me ? ” 

Wide-awake by this time, Jack-a-boy jumped 
up and looked about him. 

Two big eared grayish looking animals, 
their heads pushed through the bushes, peered 
anxiously around. 

Jack-a-boy stood spellbound by the soft 
gaze that he felt rather than saw. 

At last a soft prolonged “0-h-h-h” burst 
from his lips, and then he said, “ You are deer, 
aren’t you ? I have been longing to meet you.” 

114 


A Deer Yard 


115 

“ Yes, this is a part of our yard. We passed 
a very uncomfortable night, I can assure you, 
with the fiercest pack in the forest so near. 
Are you quite sure they have gone ? ” 

“ Quite sure, and even if the}^ were here I 
know that they could not harm you. I have 
Fairy Love All’s magic wand. 

“ You spoke about your yard. Deer. What 
did you mean ? ” 

“I will tell you,” replied the deer. “We 
are the red deer of whom you have no doubt 
heard. In winter, before the first snow-storm, 
we gather into herds in different parts of the for- 
est. As soon as the snow falls, we begin to 
make paths through it, long twisted, crooked 
paths, running in every direction. They cross 
and recross in a tangle utterly bewildering to 
any head save that of a deer or a moose. 
These paths we tramp down and keep open all 
winter, that we may feed upon the twigs and 
bark growing on the sides. Were it not for 
this care a single severe winter would leave 
scarcely a deer or a moose alive in the wood. 


1 16 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

Our hoofs are sharp, you see, and sink into the 
snow, which often lies six or seven feet deep, 
making it impossible for us to go even a short 
distance without becoming utterly exhausted. 
It is this great tangle of paths which makes a 
deer or a moose yard. 

“ I hope you may meet a moose. He is the 
largest of the deer tribe. You will know him 
by his great size, awkward shape and broad 
horns. 

“ Oh, no, not the horns ! I forgot. He 
hasn’t any just now.” 

“ I have been wondering,” said Jack-a-boy, 
“ how you can be deer with no horns. All the 
deer I have ever seen in pictures have had 
large, branching, beautiful antlers.” 

“ That is because you have seen them only 
in pictures. Female deer do not have horns 
at any time. Hor do the males in winter. 
I’ll tell you how it is. 

‘‘Long, long ago a deer and an antelope 
met at the edge of the wood. Now both are 
swift runners, and each of course, thinks him- 


A Deer Yard 


117 

self the fleeter. The antelope lives on the 
plain, the deer in the forest. 

‘‘ ‘ Good-morning, Cousin Antelope,’ said 
the deer. ‘ What a fine morning for a race ! ’ 

“ ‘ It is indeed,’ returned the antelope. 

“ ‘ Suppose we run,’ said the deer. ‘ The 
lake in the wood shall be the goal.’ 

“ ‘ Agreed ! ’ said the antelope, ‘ and I’ll 
wager my dew claws that I will outrun you.’ 

“ ‘ One, two, three, off ! ’ 

^‘Away they bounded, but the antelope, 
unused to the wood, was soon left far behind. 

“ Since that time the antelope has worn no 
dew claws. 

“INTot discouraged, however, the antelope 
longed again to match his skill against the 
deer’s. 

“ ‘ Let us race over the plain to the hill on 
the opposite side,’ he proposed on next meet- 
ing the deer. 

“ Elated with success, the deer replied, 
‘ Gladly, and I’ll wager my antlers that I will 
outdistance you.^ 


u8 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

‘‘ On the plain the deer was no match for 
the antelope. Away sped the antelope like 
the wind. Beaching the goal, he waited until 
his discomfited rival arrived. 

“ ‘ You have lost your horns,’ said he. 

“ Since that time the deer loses his horns 
every year and must grow new ones. 

“ A full-grown deer sheds his horns in Febru- 
ary, and they are not their full size again until 
the end of August. 

“ In the early spring the deer may be found 
in some secluded spot in the forest. He is 
then as harmless as his mate and almost as 
timid. A pair of little knobs appear on his 
forehead. They are covered with a soft vel- 
vety skin. In a few days these grow quite 
large and show that they are going to be ant- 
lers. By summer, you would never imagine 
that the deer had ever lost his horns. They 
are larger each year, and if you know how, 
you can reckon a deer’s age from the number 
of tines on his horns. When the horns are 
fully grown, the velvety skin is all rubbed off. 


A Deer Yard 


119 

The horns are then a rich fawn color and 
highly polished. 

“ The male deer now delight in fighting with 
each other. Frequently, during the confiict, 
the horns of the two deer will, interlock, and 
neither being unable to escape, both die a 
miserable death.” 


CHAPTER XIX 


TOO TIMID TO MAKE FEIENDS 

Towabd evening a strange sound like a 
dog whining or a baby crying broke the still- 
ness of the air. As it became louder Jack-a- 
boy distinguished the words, “ Hoo ! Hoo ! 
Hoo ! ” and called out, “ Dear, what is that ? 
Do you know ? ” 

“ That is my cousin, the owl,” said Prince. 

“ Why, Prince, are you crazy ? Birds and 
cats can’t be cousins.” 

‘‘Well, maybe not. But his eyes are like 
mine at night anyhow. He can see quite as 
well in the dark as you can in the light.” 

“ Let us sit down under yonder tree,” said 
Rags. “ That is where their hole is I am sure. 
Perhaps they will come out where we can see 
them.” 

“While we wait,” said Prince, “I will tell 
120 


Too Timid to Make Friends 121 

you about a family of screech owls that I once 
knew. 

“ It was one balmy night in April that I 
made their acquaintance. Screech Owl and 
his mate sat on the limb of an old tree. He 
sang to her his sweetest love-song. You very 
probably would not have thought his song 
very pleasing, for his voice sounded as mourn- 
ful as though he had lost his best friend. But 
Screech Owl was exceedingly happy, for as he 
told his mate, he had just found a fine large 
hole up in the elm tree. It did not make him 
any the less happy when she said in a 
frightened voice, ‘ Oh, I fear that hole is not 
safe. It is right over the road.’ 

“ ‘ How, my dear,’ said the owl, ‘ we fly by 
night, because we can see by night. Man 
walks forth during the day, for he can see 
only by day. So you see there can be no 
danger.’ Allaying her fears with this wise 
argument, which he thought perfectly true, he 
coaxed her to fly over and inspect the new 
home. I did not hear them go, for owls have 


122 


Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

such soft downy feathers that they fly with- 
out making the slightest sound. So, if my 
eyes had not been very sharp, I would have 
lost them. 

“ They reached the new home. It had been 
made by a woodpecker but the wood had 
rotted away, and now it was quite large 
enough for the owls, and they decided to 
make it their home. 

“ Soon there were four round white eggs in 
the nest, and after that, four downy little balls 
with big mouths and no tails to speak of. 

“Every night the man, my friend, and I 
went out to watch them. 

“ At last one night, he said to me, ‘ Look at 
that strange little creature scrambling up the 
bark of the tree. It looks like a ball of yellow 
down with no tail and a great round head.’ 

“We soon saw three more yellow balls 
climbing from bough to bough, all the time 
making a strange noise, like machinery that 
needed oiling. 

“The mother and father flew back and 


Too Timid to Make Friends 123 

forth. Whenever they came to one of the 
young birds, there was a great snapping of 
bills and chattering. ‘ I guess their mother is 
stuffing their mouths with food,’ said my 
friend. ‘ That is the way young owls are fed. 
The mother fills their mouths with food, and 
all they have to do is to swallow it.’ 

“ The bird’s bill is soft at first, and he can- 
not take hold of anything for himself. 

“It won’t be long, though, till he goes 
mouse hunting for his nightly feast. Failing 
mice, he will hunt and devour cut worms. 

“ Well, I believe those owls have heard us 
talking, and will not come out. Let us go to 
sleep. Perhaps we will have better luck an- 
other night.” 


CHAPTEB XX 


THE GRANDEST ANIMAL OF ALL 

Suddenly, Jack-a-boy started up. 

“ What is that I hear ? ” he asked. 

A strange clanking noise rang across the 
snow. Jack-a-boy and his companions hur- 
riedly arose and started toward the sound. 

Once in the open country, what a sight met 
their gaze ! Over the snowy desert a herd of 
caribou bounded on like an express train I 

At first, all he could see was a great cloud 
of steam, a whirl of fiying snow, and here and 
there a glimpse of wide antlers or the gleam 
of a black muzzle. What a team! Santa 
Claus’ own could not excel this. On they 
came! Swiftly! Magnificently! Straight 
on! turning only as the path beneath their 
feet swung round. 

One great buck turned away from his f el- 
124 



“ Do NOT FEAR ME, LITTLE BROTHER 





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The Grandest Animal of All 125 

lows, and pausing at the child’s side whispered, 
“ Ah, little brother, I have found you.” 

“ And I you,” replied the child, “ you great, 
grand Caribou.” 

“ Do not fear me, little brother, the great 
and strong are the tender and loving. Fairy 
Love All has entrusted you to my care for a 
little while; of course, I know you cannot 
travel so fast as I, so you must let me carry 
you. 

“ Jump up in the hollow between my horns. 
You will find it a very comfortable cradle. 
Oh, yes, take Bags and Prince, too. You did 
not think I would part them from you, did 
you? 

“ Now we are off I ” 

“Do you live in the Northland always. 
Caribou ? ” asked Jack-a-boy. 

“Yes, nearly. Long ago, we used to mi- 
grate like the birds, but now we wander only 
short distances. We can never settle down in 
the frozen season as the deer and moose do. 
You have heard of their winter yards. We 


126 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

make no such provision, but depend on Mother 
Nature to take care of us. 

“ In summer, our coats are brown, like the 
great tree trunks among which we spend our 
lives. The frog of each foot grows large and 
spongy so that we can cling to the mountain- 
side or move silently about in the brush or 
leaves. 

“In winter, we become gray and that is 
why we feel perfectly safe in the snow-storm. 
See my foot, now. The frog arches up out of 
the way. The hoof grows sharp so we can 
run over the ice without slipping. With the 
shell-like edge we can cut down through the 
ice and snow for the moss upon which we 
feed. Notice how large and deeply cleft my 
hoofs are, and how far apart they spread 
when I stand. The dew claws, too, are large, 
and the ankle joints so flexible that they let 
them right down in the snow. Our feet are 
really a sort of natural snow-shoe, and unless 
the snow is very soft, no trapper in his best 
pair is a match for the caribou.” 


The Grandest Animal of All 127 

“ Do you travel in bands during the whole 
year ? ” asked Jack-a-boy. 

“ Oh, no, only in the winter. . In the sum- 
mer we live singly or rather in pairs. Each 
pair have their home deep in the wood, and 
spend their time protecting and feeding the 
little fawn baby that they have to love and 
care for.” 

“ I should think it would be very hard to 
make all the little new caribou get acquainted 
when you come together in the fall.” 

“ Oh, we send them to school.” 

“ To school ? ” echoed Jack-a-boy. “ I never 
heard tell of a caribou school. Where is 
it?” 

“I will tell you all about ours. In the 
autumn the caribou collect in herds. Then 
each cannot do as he pleases any more, but 
must learn to obey the laws made for the gov- 
ernment of the herd. This would be very 
hard for the timid deer babies, who have fol- 
lowed their own sweet wills all their little 
lives. So they are sent to school to learn how 


128 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

to live with others, to learn how to give 
up their rights and pleasures for the good 
of all. 

“An opening in the wood is the school- 
room, a few fallen logs the furniture. To this 
place the Mother Caribou take the children on 
opening day, and lessons begin. The babies 
are left alone in a group to get acquainted. 

“ They are very like other children. Some 
are too shy to do aught but hang their heads 
and hide their faces. Some are so timid that 
only at mother’s side do they feel safe, and 
this is where they run. Some are friendly at 
once and begin to enjoy the companionship of 
their neighbors. Some, we find them every- 
where, are quarrelsome and they begin to 
fight. 

“The teacher mothers are very patient. 
The timid babies are coaxed again and again 
from their hiding-places. The naughty quar- 
relsome ones are gently chided, wiser and 
older heads assuring them that quarreling is 
not a good way to begin school or life. 


The Grandest Animal of All 129 

“ As soon as the children become friendly 
with each other, lessons begin. 

“ First there is much drill in answering the 
signals, ‘Herd!’ ‘Scatter!’ ‘Kun for your 
lives ! ’ ‘ Circle ! ’ ‘ Back in your tracks ! ’ all 

of which the babies speedily learn. 

“ Perhaps the most difficult lesson to teach 
them is ‘ jumping/ 

“ Caribou are naturally poor jumpers, and 
the children, if left to themselves, would travel 
around an object, or crawl under it. 

“In their journeys through the wood it 
often becomes necessary to jump and the chil- 
dren must learn this feat. 

“ Mothers and babies join in a race around 
the room, slowly at first, then faster. Soon 
the babies are left stringing out at the end of 
the line. Bound and round they circle ! 
Suddenly, the leader changes her course, and 
reaching a log, vaults lightly over it, followed 
by one mother after the other. What will 
the first baby do? Every mother watches 
anxiously. Reaching the log, he i^efuses to 


130 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

budge. The next little one does likewise, ex- 
cept that he most likely knocks his head into 
the first one’s legs. 

“ The rest, demoralized, run around the log, 
joyfully saying ‘ Ba-a-a ! ’ when they reach 
their mother’s side. 

“ The patient mothers begin all over again, 
and some of the little folks, entering into the 
spirit of the frolic, follow mother over the log, 
timidly enough at first, but gaining confidence 
with each trial. 

“ Some remain, either too timid or too obsti- 
nate to make the attempt. 

“ These are put into a separate class. They 
are led to a fallen log, and deliberately butted 
until they jump over it. 

“In learning to jump, the children learn 
another important lesson. That is ‘To fol- 
low the leader.’ This is good, for the leader 
of the herd is always a wise old bull caribou 
who knows from long experience what is best 
for his subjects. 

“We have a burying-ground, too. All the 


The Grandest Animal of All 131 

caribou go there, when sick or wounded unto 
death, if their strength is sufficient for them 
to reach the spot. 

“ You may come across this ground at some 
time. There you will find the remains of 
generations of caribou, piles of bones covered 
with the dust of ages. The Indian finds the 
place, and here he looks for the caribou antlers 
he always has for sale. 

‘‘ It is well ! How few of us are of use after 
death. And it is a comfort to know that even 
then we can bring comfort and pleasure to 
those who are here. 

“ Why, here is the herd. What can be the 
matter ? ” 

Caribou trembled from head to foot as he 
marked the signs of excitement in the herd. 

“ Worst thing imaginable, old friend,’’ cried 
the leader. “The hunters! We must be 
quick or we are doomed ! Do you and the 
youngsters take the upper road. Big Horn 
and the does take the lower. I and the re- 
mainder will scatter and make the many trails, 


132 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

for many trails make few catches, and are so 
bewildering that neither man nor his dogs can 
follow.” 

Sure of his strength, Caribou bounded off 
with the youngsters. On they rushed, over 
hill and dale. Bound and round they circled, 
never very far away, but making a trail so 
misleading that they need not fear. Ex- 
hausted at last, they lay down to rest. Cari- 
bou’s mate and their child cuddled close to his 
side. 

Suddenly, Caribou pricked us his ears. A 
man’s voice broke the stillness of the night 
air. 

“Jem, we are lost ! A pretty prospect for 
us ! The ground covered with snow, and no 
blankets. Let us build a fire or we will surely 
perish in the night. Fortunately, I have 
matches in my pocket and food in the bag. 
This thicket seems to be protected. Suppose we 
stay here till daylight.” The voices hushed. 

“ Perhaps it is just as safe to remain here as 
to try to escape in our exhausted condition,” 


The Grandest Animal of All 133 

said Caribou. “They can do us no harm till 
daylight, and it is probably best to ‘ lie low 
and say nothing ’ till morning.’’ 

Just as the dawn broke, Caribou gave the 
signal to move on. 

But it was no ordinary hunter with whom 
he had to deal. Quick as he was, the hunter 
and his man were quicker, and ere the caribou 
had traversed many miles, the hunters were on 
their track. 

In despair. Caribou signaled his mate and 
their child to part from him. 

With the swiftness of a bird, she dashed 
away, and in a moment was lost in the 
forest. 

Caribou took up her tracks and followed 
them for some distance, then leaping aside, he 
rushed oii in the opposite direction, clearing 
the moose bushes with bound after bound, 
flying over the fallen logs, pausing neither for 
brook nor ravine. 

Meanwhile how fared it with the mother 
and her child ? 


134 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

The sound of a gun across the snow tells the 
story all too well. 

The child unable to keep up with her mother, 
— the hunters far too wise to be misled by 
Caribou’s trick of taking up the doe’s trail, — 
the mother too faithful to desert her little 
one. 

Leaving his charges in safety Caribou darted 
off toward the sound. Ah, here is blood in the 
snow. On another half mile ! There he finds 
her. She is walking slowly, her head hanging 
low. The baby is running here and there as 
though in trouble it cannot understand, yet re- 
turning every now and then to caress the 
dying mother. 

He will not desert her now. Another half 
mile and the hunters are upon them. She is 
down now. Nothing can be done to save her. 

Caribou circles round and round then fiees 
from a foe he cannot resist. He has a duty to 
the band, and must stifie his own feelings as 
he performs it. 

Jack-a-boy has jumped from his resting-place 


The Grandest Animal of All 135 

in Caribou’s horns, and hidden in the thicket. 
The poor mother turns her lustrous eyes on 
him. They are brimming with tears. 

The man draws his knife ! Jack-a-boy covers 
his face with his hands, and then it is all over. 
Caribou’s mate lies dead in the snow. The 
baby, not understanding her silence, creeps to 
her side and nestles her warm little body to 
her cold and fast stiffening one. 

“Jem, did you ever hear of such rare good 
luck ? ” and J em’s companion raises his gun to 
end the baby life. 

Jack-a-boy bounded from the thicket. He 
flew at the hunter like a wild-cat, fists, feet, 
teeth and all of him. Kags and Prince 
stared in amazement ! They had never before 
seen their darling in such a rage. 

The next instant the child burst into passion- 
ate tears. 

“How could you? How could you?” he 
cried, “ the dear pretty thing.” 

“ But, I didn’t, child, see the baby wants to 
tell you so itself.” 


136 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

True, the bullet had sped wide of its mark, 
and a cold little nose thrust into his neck told 
him so. 

Jack-a-boy smiled gratefully through his 
tears. 

“ Please, Mr. Hunter, forgive me,” he said. 
“ I did not mean to be so rude. But see how 
the young deer trusts me. Will you not per- 
mit me to keep it? I will care for it so 
tenderly ! ” 

Ho need for the hunter to answer. Jack-a- 
boy and the deer made such a pretty picture, 
that it would have taken a heart harder than 
our hunter’s to refuse his request. 

Silently the two men turned and dis- 
appeared, and Jack-a-boy was left alone with 
his charge. 

He stood pondering what to do. 

Suddenly he wailed, “ Bags ! Bags ! I want 
to go home ! ” 

At that moment. Fairy Love All, in her 
silver-hued chariot, dashed around the turning. 

A voice cried through the forest, ‘‘Fairy 


The Grandest Animal of All 137 

Love All journeys through our woodland home 
with the child Jack-a-boy ! He leaves you ! 
Come bring him gifts and a last farewell ! - ’ 

Then from every direction came the friends 
Jack-a-boy had known and loved, — all save 
the Mother Caribou. But was her baby not at 
his side, glancing into his eyes with a look of 
trust and love ? And the little arms so ready 
to help and defend were thrown around it 
now as then. 

A motley group gathered on the borders of 
the forest. From far and near they came! 
Ked Squirrel and Jay with nuts so fine ! Bun 
and the Woodpecker with leaves of tender 
green ! Fox and Duck with fish and mouse ! 

Beaver and Wolf and Owl ! Deer and 
Caribou ! 

Buffalo, Bob White and Little Grouse !— 

Each brought of his best to the child, Jack- 
a-boy. 

Bird and Beast looked into the sweet blue 
eyes with tender loving farewell glance. 

Then as though from one voice came from 


138 Jack-a-Boy in Beast-Land 

all, “Farewell, oh, Jack>a-boy! Dearly we 
have loved you I Farewell, oh, little brother ! 
You go back to your world, we to our wood- 
land haunts ! Tell your people what love hath 
wrought. Farewell, oh, little brother! Fare- 
well!” 

And so Jack-a-boy passed from their lives 
back to the loving mother heart awaiting him 
at home. 

The sunlight streamed through the windows 
upon the closed eyes of little Jack-a-boy. 

A voice, seemingly far away, cried, “ Why 
my Mannie, how late you are sleeping ! ” 

The blue eyes opened to see mother’s brown 
ones glancing lovingly down into them. 

“Mother! Mother! such a delightful jour- 
ney as I have had!” Then he told her of 
Beast-Land, of the friends he had made, of all 
that he had learned. 

And did Mother say, “Why, Jack-a-Boy, 
you’ve been dreaming ! ” No, indeed she did 
not. But instead she made answer, “ Mother 
is glad that her boy had such a delightful 


The Grandest Animal of All 139 

time. Some day he must make a story for the 
boys and girls who cannot visit Beast-Land 
because they are well and strong.” 

Many years have passed since then, children, 
Jack-a-boy is a “ grown-up ” himself now. But 
his heart is as young and loving as in the long 
ago when with Bags and Prince he made his 
journey through the forest. 

The little friends are gone now, but they 
still live in the memory of their old playmate, 
and the stories he sends out from his shut-in 
room to the girls and boys in the world be- 
yond speak most often of the days they three 
spent so happily in Beast-Land. What ever 
you may think as you read his stories, you 
will say with me, “Jack-a-boy believes that 
he once was in Beast-Land.” 


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